Issue No 43, September 2013 delivered free to every address in Kilmallie

KCC reports – p2 Lochaber BID – p3 odds on pods – p4

locheilnet - p4 a way to the west - p4 councillors’ corner - p5 the lochaber axe - p5

past present future - p6 mews news - p6

community policing- p6 140 years ago- p7

whitta lotta litta - p8 community heroes – p9

flingin’s mingin - p9 litterature - p9

pearls of wisdom – p10 what a dump - p10

community heroes - p11 Banavie Primary – p12

High Notes - p13 Kilmallie Playgroup – p14

Coastguard - p15 Flower & Produce - p16/17

Canal News - p18 Music for All – p19

Community Centre - p19 Corpach Woods - p20

FOCAL - p20 royal occasion - p21 funding fears - p21

Christmas Lights - p21 update from Africa - p22

up the watter - p23 rugby club – p24 shinty club - p24

driftwood drover - p24 wild about kilmallie – p25 Lochaber art club - p25

dè tha dol – p26 tapestry update - p26

focus on folk- p27 guiding memories – p28 kilmallie history - p29

letters – p29 feedback - p29

green fingers - p30 outward bound - p30

puzzles - p31 sponsors - p32

runner-up community newspaper of the year

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a huge thank you to our sponsors

A huge thank you to the businesses below who sponsored the newsle er last year. We are s ll trying to raise funds for 2013/2014 so we are always grateful for more sponsorship.

The cost of copying this newsle er has again been very generously donated by Lorna and Finlay Finlayson of Crannog Restaurant, Fort William.

The paper for this issue has again been generously donated by BSW Timber, Kilmallie Our other newsle er costs have been met by dona ons and from KCC’s limited funds.

We rely on the contribu ons from our business community for the cost of distribu ng this free newsle er to every address in our area. Without further sponsorship this year, we may not be able to meet all our costs.

We welcome sponsorship from all businesses located in Kilmallie, or with principal key personnel resident in Kilmallie. If you would you like to see your name or logo in print suppor ng your community newsle er, please join with our current sponsors.

All dona ons, big or small, are hugely appreciated.

Please contact us at treasurer@kilmallie.org.uk for details.

BOYD BROTHERS (HAULAGE) LTD

CLYDEBoyd Fort William Ltd

would you like to become a sponsor too?

mega congratulations Morgan! Morgan MacIntyre proudly holding her Silver medal she won at the Bri sh Transplant Games in Sheffield.

Morgan also has a medal for comple ng the 3k Donor run/walk to honour all Donors.

Many thanks to Iain Ferguson for photo

see page 26 joan’s tapestry goes to holyrood

page 2 page 31

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Thank you to Tony Whitelocke for another great crossword.

Answers to last issue’s puzzle: Across: 1 MEANDER, 4 MIDGE, 7 MEGAN, 9 DISPUTE, 10 ISLANDS, 11 SPLIT, 12 SAVOYS, 14 SPIDER, 18 ASCOT, 20 UMPIRES, 22 ANNOYED, 23 ARMED, 24 NIECE, 25 EMERALD Down: 1 MOTHERS, 2 ANGEL, 3 RADISH, 4 MOSES, 5 DOUBLED, 6 ELECT, 8 NANNY, 13 VACANCE, 15 PEPPA, 16 RESIDED, 17 DUNDEE, 18 AGAIN, 19 THYME, 21 RUMBA

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14 15 16

17

18 19 20 21

22 23

24 25

Across

1 Top of the head followed by the Spanish blade (7)

4 Diamond has 4 (5) 7 Maybe the cat got it? (5) 9 Be er (7) 10 Bouquet (7) 11 He’s part of a small answer (5) 12 Right in the s ng for this e (6) 14 He lives next door to the knight (6) 18 Leans (5) 20 Sco sh plant (7) 22 Presenter(7) 23 Robin’s colour from Lincoln (5) 24 Gomorrah’s partner (5) 25 Stan gets in the mug ‐ whoa there horsey (7)

Down

1 They get out the ring at the start of the round (7)

2 Ini ally a man eats noodle stew for the endings (5)

3 Cricket extra (6) 4 Dance for a li le Samuel who got a degree (5) 5 Samson’s partner (7) 6 Temptress (5) 8 Girl’s Renault car loses final direc on (5) 13 Started again when the sum is in the re ring

deer (7) 15 It’s o en on the cake (5) 16 Old German currency (7) 17 This small river confuses the master 6) 18 There are lots of these in Scotland (5) 19 17 Down not right (5) 21 Greek le er (5)

“some straight clues, some cryptic clues, some easy, some not so easy”

from the Chair Well hello again and welcome to the September 2013 issue of Kilmallie Community News. You will see that it is a wee bit thicker this me at 32 pages; we have had great difficulty in recent issues trying to fit all the wonderful ar cles we receive in to 28 pages, so when you have to grow, you have to grow!

You will no ce a recurring theme of li er in this issue; it is sad that a beau ful area such as we live in is tainted by thoughtless dumping of rubbish, whether locally or arriving with the des, but heart‐warming that within our community we have members who take ac on to do something about removing it.

I just love the beau ful dri wood drove pony on page 24: how marvellous it is... an excellent piece of ar stry and a great use for some of the many pieces of dri wood that wash up on our beaches.

I was delighted to see the wee pepperpot lighthouse on Joan Kerr’s embroidery panel, what an achievement to have completed such a wonderful piece of needlework that joins the other amazing pieces portraying Scotland’s rich history. The tapestry will be touring Scotland at some point so hopefully it will come to Lochaber.

You will no ce on page 5 that there is a newly formed Lochaber Area Commi ee with an explana on from Dot Ferguson, Ward Manager on its role and how it will affect us locally.

Well then, take some me out and enjoy yet another fantas c issue of the Kilmallie Community News; a very big well done to our newsle er team, ar cle contributors, sponsors and delivery team, it just gets be er and be er!

Maggie Mackenzie chairman@kilmallie.org.uk

How can we help Highland Council improve their services? Last year Highland Council started a consulta on process on how the council could save money to address its funding deficit. Some of these cuts will simply be addressing a short‐term crisis. However, the more important issue is thinking about what kind of services we all need and would like to see in the longer‐term, and how they can best be provided. One of Highland Council’s plans is to recruit volunteers to do jobs that we have always seen done by Council workers. Whilst most of us aspire to live in a community where people play their part looking a er each other and the local environment, that is not the same as expec ng volunteers to provide services that were previously provided by the Council. There are few that would argue that saving money by cu ng jobs and then hoping volunteers, who may or may not have the necessary skills, will fill the gaps is a sensible strategy. Similarly, expec ng voluntary groups to raise money to pay the Council for ‘non‐essen al’ services is basically a form of voluntary local taxa on which is hard to see can be viable in the long term. Whether paid or unpaid, everyone’s me is valuable, and their skills need to be used to best effect. There needs to be a well thought out strategy for how voluntary groups including Community Councils can work most effec vely alongside Highland Council. Rou ne services requiring specialist equipment or infrastructure should be provided by the Council. Community Councils and other voluntary groups can provide advice on how best to tailor these to local needs. For example, Highland Council are currently seeking volunteers to take on jobs such as clearing snow and ice from footpaths, and they have stopped providing Christmas lights. The new voluntary Christmas lights group have been very successful in their efforts, but this shows that this is clearly something that is valued by the community, so arguably should simply remain a Council service. Having undertaken these ac vi es for years, the Council has the

experience, equipment and infrastructure to poten ally deliver these services much more efficiently than voluntary groups. They therefore do not seem sensible tasks to ask volunteers to do. Where community ac on can really play an important role is responding to rare and unusual events that the Council could not realis cally expect to plan for, providing the kind of extra assistance that friends and neighbours are par cularly good at. During this summer’s hill fires, the community excelled at checking up on and helping their neighbours, leaving the emergency services to tackle the most cri cal situa ons with their specialist skills. Similarly we should all be prepared to change our plans and help each other out in response to extreme weather, but that is a very different thing from the regular clearing of footpaths in typical winter condi ons. Arguably the most effec ve thing we can all do to help the Council improve services is to look at all the things we do which unwi ngly cause expense. Refuse collec on is an obvious example. Whilst recycling is helpful in environmental terms, such waste s ll needs to be collected and processed, and it would be be er if it were never created at all. In 2010/11 the cost for refuse collec on for each household in Highland was £183, and landfill tax is set to be £80 per tonne by 2014. These costs roughly scale to the amount of waste we produce. Cut our waste by 1% and that would pay for Christmas lights. By compos ng all food waste and avoiding items with unnecessary packaging it is easy to reduce what we put in the bin by 25% without any real effort. The retail industry would also soon get the message if items in excess packaging simply didn’t sell and a 25% reduc on would save roughly the equivalent of Highland Council’s total winter road maintenance budget. That would be a good example of a community ac ng together and playing to its strengths. Or why not consider helping to make the voice of the community really heard, by joining Kilmallie Community Council? As members of KCC, ci zens have a real opportunity to make long‐las ng improvements in their community, using their skills in the best ways, and advising the Council on how we would really like Kilmallie to look in the future.

Russell Leaper, Secretary

picture quiz no 1

where in Kilmallie is this chef working?

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Answers to these puzzles are on the website www.kilmallie.org.uk

(follow the link on the RHS of the homepage) and will also be published in the next issue of the

newsle er for people without access to the internet

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kilmallie community

news Bigger than ever before (because you keep sending us so much fantas c stuff) we are delighted to bring you another jam‐packed‐full newsle er. It is only possible thanks to all our brilliant contributors and our hardy delivery team. Thank you to everyone who has had a hand in this issue ‐ it is all done by volunteers.

Thank you too as always to our sponsors ‐ we really do rely on you and we hugely value your support.

If you’d like to help, either as a contributor, or on the editorial or delivery teams, please get in touch ‐ more help is always very welcome.

The deadline for the next newsle er is 15th November, for publica on in early December.

Your newsle er team: Chris ne Hutchison 772252 Jan MacLugash 772383 Kshama Wilmington 772499 Mandy Ketchin email us at newsle er@kilmallie.org.uk Views expressed in this newsle er are not necessarily the views of the newsle er team or of Kilmallie Community Council.

KILMALLIE COMMUNITY COUNCIL Members of the public are most welcome at all our mee ngs. Mee ngs are currently held at 7:15pm in Kilmallie Hall on the 3rd Wed of every month excl July and Dec, but please check the website in case of changes. Next ordinary mee ng dates are 18 September, 16 October, and 20 November 2013. Next AGM is 18 June 2014. Chairman Maggie Mackenzie, 42 Hillview Drive, Corpach, PH33 7LS chairman@kilmallie.org.uk Secretary Russell Leaper Canal House, Banavie, PH33 7LY secretary@kilmallie.org.uk Treasurer Jan MacLugash Salen, Banavie PH33 7LY treasurer@kilmallie.org.uk Other members Chris ne Hutchison Mandy Ketchin Kshama Wilmington Associate member Chris Pellow m

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Living Lochaber BID proposal and its implica ons for

local businesses

do make sure you find out how the proposal could affect you.

Whether you are for or against the BID, it is important that you register your view by cas ng your vote. You may be affected by the outcome,

whatever your views.

Living Lochaber are issuing ballot papers in October.

For more informa on go to www.livinglochaber.co.uk

Armistice Day service at Banavie War Memorial

Sunday 10th November, 3:00pm The names of all the local people who lost their lives in the two World Wars and who are commemorated on the war memorial at Banavie are recorded on KCC’s website in a Remembrance Gallery: a sad, grim

reminder of the horrors and reali es of war. Yet as our very local newsle er goes to press, the na onal and interna onal news has been full of the prospect of

sending missiles and armed forces to Syria.

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

outward bound kilmallie From the 22nd of June to the 6th of July Outward Bound Loch Eil hosted 50 boys from Eton college and The Windsor Boys School. The aims of the programme were to deliver skills for the 21st Century and also to build a sense of community between the two schools. The programme was tled Eton+plus. It was an intense 2 week programme designed by Outward Bound to test the boys’ strength of character and to increase their awareness of themselves and the impact they had on others. One of the main themes and values of the programme was "Service to Others" so a community project day was an important feature of the programme. With fantas c support from the Lochaber Rotary Club and the local Forestry Commission, five community projects were set up throughout the Lochaber area. The projects were based at Kilmallie Gardens, The Lochaber Rural Complex, Steall Mountain Hut in Glen Nevis, and path work in Glen Nevis. At the Kilmallie Gardens, a group of 10 young men from the ‘Macgregor Clan’ (5 Etonians and 5 Windsor boys) met Dr Sen and Paul Brian to help maintain this fantas c community focal point. The boys spent the day weeding the raised beds, trimming the hedge rows and clearing the pathways through the gardens. Dr Sen and Paul Brian explained beau fully the importance of the gardens and how it was such a meaningful place for the community of Corpach. It gave the boys a real sense of purpose and a fantas c insight to the values of selflessness and community spirit.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their day at Kilmallie Gardens and le with a great sense of pride and achievement for their efforts and contribu on. Outward Bound would like to thank all who helped organise these project days and a special thank you must go to Dr Sen and Paul Brian for their fantas c support and guidance at Kilmallie gardens. From Outward Bound’s point of view, the day was a great success. Sean Comiskey Outward Bound

green fingers

garlic Growing garlic is rela vely easy but you need to watch a couple of things. First don't try and grow them from bulbs bought in the Supermarket, they just don't work. It is best to get your bulbs from a Garden Centre in Sept/

Oct. Break the bulb into individual cloves and plant in a large trug or tub, about 6‐8 inches apart and deep enough to have the ps just showing. They need to have a period of cold, frosty weather

but if it gets very wet, put them under cover so they don't get waterlogged. We have also tried growing them direct into the ground in the Spring, now we have had had no success this way although I'm sure in some areas they would be fine. Just give them a feed occasionally and let them grow on un l the green tops die down, then hang them up and let them ripen fully. The varie es we have had most success with are Germidour and Solent Wight. Others we have tried have been inclined to go to seed and whilst they are usable they don't get to a decent size. They are very sa sfying to grow and take up very li le room so you don't even need a garden! Morag Mackell

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Kilmallie? I think that most of us believe that the word Kilmallie is a parish, a district or a local organisa on name ‐ which it is. The parish was once the largest in Scotland and stretched from Ballachulish to Loch Hourn. However it had a humble beginning as a local se lement. The word Kilmallie has, over the centuries, had many varia ons in its spelling, eg Kilmaduff (1304), Kilmalyn, Kilmalde (1372), Kilmalzhe (1472), Kilmalyhe (1495), Kirkmalie, Culmally and Kilmaddy. Even in more recent mes there is a tombstone in the Old Cemetery of 1830 of the Rev Duncan McIntyre, Minister of Killmalie. Was this the spelling of the me or could the family / engraver not spell?

The first known date of a version of the Kilmallie name was noted in 1296. Where is/was Kilmallie? All indica ons point to an area between the Oakwood and to the East of the old Cemetery as far as the burn beside Farrow Drive. What does Kilmallie mean ? Kil ‐ cemetery or church There is certainly an old cemetery but the earliest readable stone is 1790, a date which gives no indica on of the age of the graveyard. However five early Cameron leaders are said to be buried here in the 17th C. Being adjacent to Annat, with 6th C base for St Columba`s missionaries, would indicate a close e‐up of Annat / Kilmallie. As an ecclesias cal centre in the most likely sense some thoughts of a possible church on the top of the levelled Oakwoods (oh, for a professional dig!) No evidence of early churches but obvious ruin of a 1499 building. An old map also shows a church symbol on one of the islands in the bay. Mallie ‐ Possible origins ‐ from virgin Mary an ancient shrine ‐ built 11th C ‐

built here by a monk called Maolan. Hence Cil‐moalin. He was the son of the Bishop of Dunkeld.

from a li le known saint Maillidh from "kil maol dubh" ‐ church of the

black monk.

The burn already men oned is called Allt Cuil a Chiarain ‐ this means the burn flowing by St Ciarain’s Retreat. If this is true Ciarnain could be the ‘maol dubh’ and suggests there may have been a monastery in this vicinity. The other interpreta on is ‘the nook of the dusky one’. So what does ‘mallie’ mean? Take your pick, but many ‘experts’ choose Maillidh. From a map of the 16th C, Kilmallie was the only place of note in the area apart from the like of Tor Castle and Inverlochy Castle. In a map of about 1750 is shown the ‘Town of Kilmauly’ (as well as the ‘Town of Corpoch’ (but no indica on of Banavie). So what happened to the town of Kilmallie? We can speculate ‐ It lost its importance as an ecclesias cal

centre due to the Reforma on (1560‐1651) and no known churches were here for about 80 years;

war‐like mes with Clan disputes; by the early 1770s a surveyor ‘of the

Forfeited Estate’ men ons "Kilmallie Church at Corpach";

with the building of the Canal, star ng in 1803, there were a large number of incomers to Corpach. This almost certainly resulted in expansion and absorp on of Kilmallie town.

Hugh Muir

Kilmallie history We remember Hugh Muir in this great collection of history snippets which he sent us before he died earlier this year. With thanks to Hugh’s family for permission to publish it, and many

more still to come.

a way to the west

Angus MacIntyre has wri en to tell us about this exci ng ini a ve for a new long‐distance footpath. A steering commi ee has been formed under the umbrella of The Road to the Isles Marle ng Group to bring to reality the idea of a walking route linking all the villages between Fort William and Mallaig, to be named “A Way to the West”. Kilmallie Community Council has welcomed the project, which will bring economic benefit to our area as well as an enjoyable walking route for local residents as well as visitors to enjoy.

Plans are moving ahead well, though the precise full route has s ll to be established. The route will offer an op onal extension to walkers planning either the Great Glen Way or the West Highland Way. Roughly described, the plan is that it follows the Great Glen Way from Fort William to the canal, then turns le for Corpach through the village to Camusnaha, over the rail bridge onto the beach, following the rail line to Drumsallie and on to the Callop underpass, where it will pick up the public path to Glenfinnan. From here it will follow the new track to the Glenalladale estate hydro scheme and hopefully follow the west side of Locheilt to Lochailort and Glenmammie. It then follows the coast as close as possible to Mallaig through Arisaig and Morar. The important part is that no village along the route is missed out. One of our Ward councillors, Allan Henderson, who is on the steering group, tells us that most landowners have so far been very helpful although they s ll have to get official permission from others. SNH are also very suppor ve and will advise on SSSI’s etc. If you have any thoughts on this new footpath, or indeed any ideas for other local walking or cycling routes, please let KCC know.

letters Sorry, KCC knows of no such awards at the moment unfortunately. Thanks to Lucy for highlighting the dedication of Ann and Billy. It’s great to be able to

publicly acknowledge the valuable contribution that people have made and are making to our community - there are many such people - some well known, and many more not so well known. Why not write and tell us

your stories about the great contributions people have made?

Dear Kilmallie Community News

Reading Hugh Muir’s detailed account of Kilmallie Cubs/Scouts recalled a very special occasion due to the meless effort and dedica on of Ann and Billy MacMillan. This very special couple led seven guide/rangers and their proud mums to Holyrood to be presented with their Duke of Edinburgh

Gold Award by the Duke of Edinburgh himself in 1974: Margaret Andrew; Moira Collins; Rhona Cranston; Catherine Hogg; Edith Hope Sheena Macrae; Margaret McWilliams. Is there a civic award out there that can be given to this dedicated couple – not only for what they did for Kilmallie Guide Rangers, but for their meless effort First Aiding at events throughout Lochaber and beyond for many years?

Lucy Hope

There was a good turnout to Sco sh Canals’ consulta on on their proposed camping pods at Banavie back in June. A er the event at The Moorings, KCC welcomed their three representa ves to a KCC mee ng in the evening., where they gave a further presenta on. A small minority expressed enthusiasm for the proposed pods, thinking that they looked

interes ng and would help support the local economy. But the majority view expressed was not posi ve. Concerns tended to fall into the following categories: taking business away from exis ng local businesses providing

accommoda on li er, noise and general disturbance from a campsite next to a

residen al area inappropriate appearance lack of respect for the historical significance of the site (the

pods were going to be placed right on the line of the original railway line (see ar cle on page 7)

A community idea to provide floa ng pods on a barge or pontoon was met with much greater enthusiasm ‐ it would avoid disturbing the planned landscape of the canal, it would be a great a rac on for users, and the loca on could be more flexible to address concerns of local residents. Sco sh Canals (SC) appeared to welcome this idea, but it remains to be seen whether they will progress it. The SC team said they would no fy KCC of any specific proposals before pu ng in a planning applica on. So we are grateful to Keith Mackie, Development Surveyor at Sco sh Canals, who sent KCC this update on 26th August: “Following our mee ngs with the community, I thought it would be worthwhile upda ng you as to our plans for Banavie. We have decided to drop Banavie from Phase 1 of the camping pods project. We are pressing ahead with 4 other loca ons first as these other loca ons are known over‐night stops in the Great Glen Way transit. The market for Banavie needs to be proven, following

seeing exactly what the customer base is in Phase 1. Neptune’s Staircase has an under provision of facili es for visi ng tourists and we are focusing on projects that seek to address this issue. As such, we are working on the feasibility of revitalising the listed buildings that include the Saw Mill to offer uses such as interpreta on facili es, café, shop, toilets and possibly, a hire equipment outlet (bikes, canoes etc.). I shall update you as our plans develop.” This appears to be good news, depending on the nature of any actual proposals. Hopefully they will preserve the modest character of the old buildings which have an important place in the history of the canal. KCC have had no specific update from SC about their proposals for Moy: so we don’t know if it is one of the loca ons that SC say they are pressing ahead with. This is another loca on where it would be preferable to float the pods rather than spoil the peaceful beauty of Moy’s landscape se ng (there is plenty of space at the River Loy basin nearby). Or ideally SC could avoid development at Moy altogether as it is not far for walkers to carry on to Gairlochy. (There the community are opposing any pods and asking instead for Telford House Gairlochy to be brought back into use). So pods may yet appear at Moy, and also at Banavie in the future. If you want to see what they would look like, SC have now built a prototype. There is a picture of it under construc on at h p://www.oliverchapmanarchitects.com/news/2013/ SC have already put in a planning applica on for a 7‐pod campsite at Laggan Locks. It’s not in our Community Council area, but it is nearby, and it is of interest to anyone who takes an interest in the Canal as a whole. Here too, some floa ng pods would surely have been much more appropriate. You can see what is proposed on Highland Council ‘s eplanning website (see details below). Objec ons have been submi ed by various members of the Laggan community so far. The planning applica on is scheduled to be determined on 28 Sept. If, as is likely, it is approved, we will have a chance to see what the pods will look like in the flesh fairly soon. Let’s hope the minority of people who liked the look of the pods are vindicated.

Highland Council eplanning website: h p://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/

Search for applica on ref 13/02876/FUL All the drawings are downloadable under the ‘Documents’ tab.

odds on pods?

Locheilnet Locheilnet has made good progress in the past months. Despite a few hiccups out of our control, we have been able to do site surveys, order tools and equipment, order the leased line and install a few more main relays. Over the next 8 weeks, Locheilnet members and trained volunteers will do the house to house installa ons in the various areas, while our

dedicated IT team will monitor the performance of the line as the work progresses. This is very much a community effort and we thank everyone who has given us the strength and support to get us this far. You can follow our progress on the website and our facebook page:: www.locheilnet.co.uk/news h ps://www.facebook.com/Locheilnet Chris Pellow

Are you carrying on prin ng the newsle er? I would be happy to pay for it and I’m sure other people would be too. Long may it con nue! (SL)

I really enjoy the newsle er. I love it! (IM)

You folks are doing a great job with the newsle er (AG)

You have a truly wonderful gallery of images [from Meall Bhanbhaidh] in your Photo Galleries sec on [on your website]. (NH)

A very readable quarterly ‐ if you don’t live in or around the Queen of Suburbia then go out of your way to try to obtain a copy. (Roamer in Lochaber News a while back)

The magazine is very good. Keep up the good work ‐ we all enjoy reading it. (IC)

A wonderful magazine – people in the town are jealous! (BA)

The newsle er’s fantas c – I love that it’s got lots of in‐depth stuff in it. I really look forward to it arriving each me. (LM)

A good newsle er again ‐ always brilliant! (DM)

Please pass on my compliments to the team of people who put the newsle er together. Having produced something similar myself for my business and for a club, I know how much work goes into it. The content was interes ng, useful and well wri en ‐ a rarity these days. The layout was a rac ve and professional looking. All in all, a very well done job (CJ)

Congratula ons on ge ng the recent award for the newsle er – it is really a very good read! (AR)

My friend loves to read the KCC newsle er, they don't do anything like that where she lives! (SS)

Fabulous newsle er. Gold standard. (SC)

feedback

we love to get your feedback - please keep it coming - together

with ideas for future issues

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I advised the SNP led Administra on that I would be submi ng a proposal that Lochaber should have its own stand alone Area Commi ee and that I expected the SNP led Administra on to give members a free vote, which they agreed to do. That decision swept like wildfire through the poli cal groups. With the support of the majority of SNP members together with local Independent Councillor Andrew Baxter, the Independent Group was persuaded to drop its support for a Lochaber/Skye and Wester Ross Area Commi ee. This support plus that of all Local Members accumulated more than enough votes to win the vote handsomely. By se ng up Area Commi ees, we are taking a first step on the road to fulfilling a long held desire of communi es to feel closer to Local Government decision making.

The se ng up of pilot Area Commi ees over the next year will bring about further debate on how much influence they have or should have. Crea ng Area Commi ees that will sa sfy the aspira ons of everyone is an impossible task, just as it is impossible to detail at this early stage a dis nct proposal for Kilmallie without taking into account the requirements of the rest of the Caol & Mallaig Ward or indeed Lochaber. It would be easy enough for every Lochaber Councillor to produce a wish list. It will be more prudent par cularly in the first year to have every Councillor working together to ensure that both Lochaber wards receive an equal slice of any cake on offer. Cllr Bill Clark

our Highland councillors’ corner This time we asked Dot Ferguson, our Ward Manager, to explain the recent changes involved in setting up (or re-setting up) the Lochaber Area Committee (LAC).

MY HIGHLAND HOME IN CORPACH

My home in the Highlands is dear to my heart, I’ve lived here so long now I feel I’m a part Of the bricks and the stones, of the plants and the trees, Of the loch and the mountains, the skies and the seas.

When I walk in my garden, each plant is a friend For each did I nourish and lovingly tend, From seedling or plantlet I saw them all grow To the size and maturity now that they show.

I go down the road and the faces I see Are those that I know and of friends who know me, We laugh and exchange all the news of the day. I’m part of the village and here I will stay.

For here I belong and find infinite pleasure, My house is my castle – a home that I treasure, I walk in the gate to be met by my cat, And no be er welcome I know of than that.

Ruth Miller

The newly formed Lochaber Area Commi ee will comprise the seven Local Members – 3 represen ng Ward 12 and 4 represen ng Ward 22. The Commi ee will meet four mes a year (all mee ngs will be webcast) and is being established to scru nise and deliver ac ons and improvements in Lochaber. As well as taking on the responsibility for local service delivery, the commi ee will decide how delegated budgets are spent and will work with partners to promote tourism and boost the local economy, with a focus on providing efficient and effec ve services. The Commi ee will have the remit to: appoint the Leader of the Area, responsible for the running of

the Commi ee and the management of its func ons; work with partners to achieve the effec ve promo on and

future prosperity of the area including tourism and the delivery of efficient and effec ve services to its ci zens;

develop and work in partnership with Community Planning partners, including Community Councils, as appropriate, to achieve a co‐ordinated approach to the provision of services and to deliver the objec ves of the Highland Public Services Partnership;

scru nise and monitor the local delivery of services, within approved resources and strategy;

monitor the delivery of Capital Projects within the local area, as agreed within the Council’s Capital Programme;

approve delegated local func ons e.g. Road Traffic Orders, Road Construc on Consents, and Upholding Access Rights and

champion local ini a ves which promote and support the tradi onal languages, heritage and culture of the Highlands.

Dot Ferguson, Ward Manager

Does anyone remember being a scout or a girl guide? You may remember that in issue number 42 we asked if anyone in Kilmallie had any recollec ons of the scouts or girl guides as these organisa ons seem to be known to most folk who grew up in this area. We were hoping also for relevant and appropriate photos which we could share. I was delighted to hear from Sheila Su on who as many of you will know ran the shop and post office in Corpach for many years with her husband Mick. She was asked to take charge of forty or so very young girls, brownies. Mick was very scep cal… they had two children of their own!! Sheila however likes a challenge and she didn’t hesitate for a second to take up the job. In fact, she turned out to be so good at her job that Sheila was not only appointed District Commissioner but was also given responsibili es for her girls even when they were at camp abroad. In doing so, she was volunteering to work for the newly formed World Associa on of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts of which Lord and Lady Baden‐Powell as well as the Director of the World Bureau in London were ex‐officio members. Girl Guides and Girl Scouts with their new central organisa on could now plan trips abroad much more freely. The first World Centre, Our Chalet was opened in Adelboden in 1939 high in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. The stay was to show the girls how to appreciate and value the outdoors and the mul ‐cultural world. Sheila remembers with some pride and excitement, being allowed to sleep in the chalet reserved at the bo om of the garden in Adelboden for Lady Baden‐Powell when the Lady herself visited. Sheila also remembers receiving a postcard in 1957 from Su on Park, the site of the Scout Jamboree whilst she was at the Chalet for the first me and showing it to the Chief Guide. It was from the former Brown Owl. This is how Sheila says that she is certain that she knows she was at the Chalet in 1957. Sheila also has a Na onal Savings Bulle n from 1964 (see right) showing on its front cover a photo of Mrs Lumsden, the County Commissioner presen ng the Queens Guide Cer ficate to Chris ne MacBride, whose Guide Captain is standing next to her. I must thank Sheila for sharing her experiences about the girl guides in Corpach with us and we hope that she gets some joy from sharing her memories too and also we thank her for showing us her precious souvenirs which she has kept for so long. I think she must have had a wonderful me with the Brownies and girl guides.

Kshama Wilmington

Ronald Cameron sent us a scan of this slide that he found among his father’s stuff. Banavie PS shinty team, June 1972. He wonders if some of the “kids” recognise themselves!

You can watch what took place at the first mee ng of the Lochaber Area Commi ee on 26 Aug via their webcast at

h p://www.highland.public‐i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interac ve/111098

the lochaber axe

It’s not the most exci ng viewing but it’s worth a look to see what local councillors are saying (in public at least, though clearly much more poli cal business is s ll carried on behind closed doors). There is a menu on the webcast so you can skip straight to any items that interest you ‐ you don’t have to sit through the whole three hours ‐ so for example you can hop straight to the item where Corpach’s new street name Nevis Mews (as chosen by Walter Cameron Way’s residents) was approved ‐ that was where we learned that the word ‘homologated’ existed).

KCC were interested to hear the support expressed for circular path routes and for linear routes to be linked in with public transport. And we were pleased (or maybe depressed) to hear that bike racks on buses were s ll a declared aspira on a er more than 10 years. There was much discussion about the Lochaber Tourism BID proposal, which is worth listening to if you run a business and aren’t sure yet if you would be affected by it for be er or worse. The next Local Area Commi ee is on 25 November.

Perhaps LAC stands for the Lochaber Axe Commi ee! Cllr Allan Henderson’s comment above relates to the poli cally drama c assassina on of the role of Provost of Lochaber, which seems to have been engineered a er the Lochaber Area Commi ee mee ng had finished.

Area Manager Dot Ferguson tells us the LAC have determined that the civic role will now be shared between the LAC Leader Cllr Thomas MacLennan and the other six Ward councillors on an event‐by‐event basis. The ceremonial chain, used by the Provost, will con nue to be worn at events/func ons as and when appropriate.

KCC would like to thank Allan Henderson for his dedica on to the role of Provost over the last 6 years. He has been a great ambassador for our area and has worked relessly for us all as Lochaber’s civic figurehead. It remains to be seen whether the new arrangements and the new LAC itself will stand our community in such good stead. Our lives are improved by be er local services, not by more local poli cs.

Cllr Allan Henderson sent us an apology saying: “I will not be commen ng on the Lochaber Area Commi ee, as I am not par cularly disposed to it at this moment. It appears that

power is a dangerous thing. Lochaber News and Oban Times will reveal all, or at least some. Regards, Allan see below for what Allan

was referring to Cllr Allan Henderson

Cllr Eddie Hunter

Cover o

f the

Sco

sh Savings Bulle

n, No 25

5, February 19

64:

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the LAC

We then asked our three Ward 12 councillors for their views on how it will affect their work and the local community generally. The newsletter team decided on this topic in all innocence, weeks before the controversy that exploded after the first LAC meeting. We had hoped for replies from our councillors that could inspire us all to be more interested and involved in local issues - a faint hope it would now seem. Here are their replies... sorry we didn’t receive anything from Eddie.

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page 6 page 27

I first visited Fort William as a 14 year old in 1949 on a cycling tour of the highland hostels. A kind butcher in the High Street let me have two chops without taking any of my very scarce ra on book coupons. This le a so spot for the area and most years for the next 15 saw me “up North” either on the bike or, as I collected wife and family, on motor bike/sidecar. As a mining electrician working Saturday mornings it was only in the summer holidays that we were able to travel very far from the big city to our favourite area. So when, in 1965, while camping at Three Mile Water, I managed to visit the site of the Pulp and Paper mill at Corpach, there was the answer! A chat with two friendly ladies in Corpach and a look at the view and a month later I was working at the Mill. Three months later Mary and our three sons joined me in the newly built house that we s ll stay in 48 years later. The boys got the bikes they were promised and were soon into shinty, football and canoeing etc. Mary and I had done some hillwalking and some hill tracks with the bikes and were soon involved in the mill mountaineering club and s ll ge ng out cycling. I s ll had a trials motorbike to play with and we were soon se led into the community. Helping to fund raise for the village hall, working with scouts and guides and ge ng to discover the whole area soon had us feeling very much at home. There was a me when I had said you would never catch me on the end of a climbing rope but workmates soon had me hooked on steeper stuff and more and more me was spent learning new skills and ge ng new views of Lochaber. Photography had been a hobby from school days and I s ll have prints of pictures taken on that first trip by Loch Ness and

Glencoe using my mother's Kodak. That hobby became more a part of ou ngs and what a place to live in for a photographer. A change of employment from engineering to retailer as a member of the Nevisport trio found more uses for photography and I had to become more professional in my approach. Now a member of the Lochaber Rescue team it was important that pictures were good enough to be used for fund raising and recording incidents etc. By 1980 I was ready for a career change again! It was almost inevitable that photography was a possible way to go and with encouragement from a real professional friend, and Mary of course, I embarked on a new venture. Having both an industrial and retail background helped to get going in the days before so many helpful agencies were around. We decided right away that we would not do any weddings or baby photos and went for industrial and commercial clients. Great to work over the years with Bri sh Alcan, Ben Nevis Dis llery, Bri sh Waterways, HIDB, other local businesses and lots of interes ng assignments. A quirk of fate found me back in the Pulp mill which was being dismantled and this led to many visits over the years as the Paper mill was being upgraded and developed. That eventually closed as well and it was strange to have been in at the beginning and the end of the very means of us being able to live and work in this fantas c area. Having collected a fairly large library of pictures of Lochaber and the Nevis area in par cular it had been at the back of my mind to produce a book from the many files. With the advent of the computer I was able to put together things the way I wanted it and with much help from Printsmith it was produced and seems to have been well received. It s ll sells along with a collec on of prints which help to augment the pension. Having worked well past re rement age I s ll cannot go out without a camera of some kind, but enjoy shoo ng for pleasure and the occasional small paid

job. I especially enjoy the change to digital images. Wish that had happened forty years ago. What a pity that so many people knock Fort William without taking me to find out what it has to offer. We can only thank the many real people who have become good friends over the years and who all love the area warts and all. We, like many other families who moved here in the Six es and who have stayed and brought up families here, are no different from the many folks who came here over the last century to find work at the different types of employment that have evolved over the years. It is encouraging to see many young members of these families returning to the area and finding employment here. However our own three having been born in Edinburgh and brought up in Lochaber are now all living in ci es, but what a start in life they had... It is a fact that when we are away on holiday we are never reluctant to return home and are happy when we pass Crianlarach and see the hills of Glencoe and know that the Fort and Corpach are only an hour away.

Alex Gillespie

Many thanks to Alex Gillespie, who lives in Corpach, for telling us

about his enduring love of photography and of Lochaber

focus on folk

photo of Alex by Fin McRae

Many thanks to Ewen Campbell, who was able to name all the Scouts for us in the photograph from Ronald Cameron that we published last issue.

BACK ROW Bobby McBride, John Iliffe, Ian Munro, Sandy Cameron, Hugh MacDonald, Donnie Stewart, Ewen Campbell,

Caley Ross, Nigel MacPhee

MIDDLE ROW Walter P Cameron, Donald Robertson, Peter Stewart,

Charlie MacMillan, Alistair MacDougall, Duncan MacPhee, Calum Ferguson, Hugh Allison, Neil

MacMillan, Michael MacKintosh, John Carmichael

FRONT ROW Mrs J Cameron, Graeme MacKintosh, Olaf Donaldson, Ian Paton, Derek Donald, Commander Robb ‐ District

Scout Commissioner.

community policing As I write this ar cle the ‘heat wave’ we enjoyed this summer seems to be a distant memory and it’s just a few days before the Fort William young people return to school to start a new term and a new school year. Road safety ini a ves and other more local ini a ves have been undertaken without any major issues to report and the local community appear to have adapted well to the new 101 non emergency number and the 8am to 8pm opening hours of the Fort William Police Sta on. Police Scotland is currently looking for people to join the Special Constabulary and volunteer their own me to improve the safety and wellbeing of the people, places and communi es in Scotland. We are seeking mo vated individuals who are able to speak to people from all walks of life. You should enjoy working in a team environment and you’ll need integrity, pa ence and the ability to

think on your feet. Trea ng people fairly will be second nature, as will respect for diversity. If you are interested, visit the recruitment sec on of the Police Scotland website, or contact Police Sergeant Andy Bilton at Fort William Police Sta on for further details. A good rate of progress con nues to be made on the new Fort William Police Sta on and Ambulance Sta on at the Blar. The comple on of this work is s ll on target for the end of 2013. As per previous newsle er ar cles, I would welcome any feedback or comments on local Policing in the Lochaber/Kilmallie area as we con nue to priori se keeping people safe in the communi es we serve.

PS197 Andrew Bilton Liaison Officer for Kilmallie Community Council Andrew.bilton@northern.pnn.police.uk Police Service of Scotland Fort William Police Sta on, High Street, Fort William Tel 101 for non‐emergency

Back in July, Dot Ferguson, Highland Council, asked KCC for sugges ons for a name for the new house and 4 flats built at the former surgery site at Drumfada Terrace. KCC thought the best people to ask were the residents of Walter Cameron Way, so we got in touch with Maureen Fair at Hanover. Maureen asked residents for their sugges ons and 11 names came forward. At a coffee morning mee ng it went to the vote and the name chosen was ‘Nevis Mews’. ‘Nevis’ was favoured because the Ben can be seen from the proper es in Walter Cameron Way.

And ‘Mews’ was chosen because it used to be the site of the old stables for the manse, and the pony and traps used to come in there. Many thanks to Maureen and everyone at Walter Cameron Way for all their ideas, and for coming up with a great name ‐ all within the ght deadline of a week! A great community collabora on, one that beau fully links the genera ons of past, present and future. We are wai ng to hear what the Gaelic transla on will be.

mews news

Thank you to Gloria Coats, Tesco’s Regional & Corporate Affairs Manager for Scotland, who recently sent KCC a picture of their Ness Side store in Inverness, to give us a rough idea of what the store on the Blar would look like. She says it would be similar design and materials but “Ness Side is smaller than the Blah Mhor store will be”.

Freudian slip in the spelling?

past, present & ?future

the past, June 2012 , a mere 14 months ago just before the diggers

is this the future? maybe by 2015? Tesco’s vision, but the Blar version, if it happens, will be bigger

the present, August 2013 from lush and verdant to a desolate waste... Nature instantly starts trying to claim back its own, with a colony of herring gulls on the ‘lagoon’ and a dus ng of moss and algae at the water’s edge. No doubt Nature will be knocked back me and again on this site, but like

Robert the Bruce, it will never give up trying.

Anyone else recall the words of Joni Mitchell in Big Yellow Taxi?

“They took all the trees And put them in a tree museum Then they charged the people A dollar and a half just to see

'em Don't it always seem to go, That you don't know what

you've got 'Til it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot.”

joan

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page 26

page 7

Tha sinn uile duilich gu bheil Sarah Shutharlanach a’ dol a dreuch mar oifigear leasachadh sgireil CnaG agail. Tha Sarah air a bhith a’ dèanamh obair ionmholta, gu h‐araid le oighrigh, dhan toirt air falbh airson cheann sheachdainn sgitheadh agus air cursaichean còmhnaidh a thaobh Duais Iain Muir agus a’ teagaisg clasaichean Ulpan. ‘S i seinneadair clìuteach th’innte agus chuir i gu feum sin a’ cuideachadh oigridh ag ullachadh airson a’ mhòid ionadail. Chuidich i Meur Lochabair taic aigid aighinn bho Bhord na Gaidhlig gus Rionna Whyte a thoirt a‐steach a dh’obair le coisirean ann an coig bun sgoiltean air feadh sgire Lochabair, bun sgoil Bhanbhaidh nam measg. Thuirt a h‐uile daoine aig a’ Mhòid dè cho math ‘sa bha sgoilearan Bhanbhaidh agus cha bu choir dhuinn a dhìochuimh‐neachadh an obair sgoineil a rinn Deirdre Beck còmhla riutha. Bha Mòd Lochabair air leth soirbhicheil am bliadhna air sgath obair nan curaidh a tha seo, am measg eile, leithid Linda Chaimbeul agus Joanne McHale. Tha Sarah a’ dol dhan Colaiste an Fhoglaim airson bliadhna gus teisteanas aighinn mar dsear bun sgoil Gaidhlig. Tha mi lan cinnteach gum bi ise na dsear annabarrach math. Bhiodh sinn fortanach nam gheibheadh i cothrom a theagaisg anns a’ bhun sgoil ùr Gaidhlig againne. Fads a tha sinn a guidhe soraidh slan le Sarah, tha againn ri fàilte a chur ri nighean talantach eile. ‘S ann an t‐Eilean Cheap Bhreatann a tha Tara NicFhraing agus tha ise a’ dol a leum a steach dhan brogan Sarah. ‘S e buil den teaghlach, ainmeil, ceòlmhor sinach, an teaghlach MhicFhraing, no Rankine Family, a tha Tara agus chanainn gu bheil sinn fortanach gu bheil bana‐Chanadianach òg talantach a ghinn a dh’obair nar measg agus a chuir nar chuimhne gu bheil a’ Ghaidhlig athast na canan eadar‐naistenta. Tha Meur Lochabar a’ Chomainn air tabhann a chuir a‐steach am Mòd Naisteanta a cumail ‘sa Ghearasdan ann an 2017. Tha e coltach gum bhiodh an Comann barrachd air toilichte a thighinn air ais an seo agus thoireadh sinn barrachd ‘s £2,500,000 a steach dhan sgire. Tha rud eile cinnteach, bidh a’ Mheur a’ lorg mòran luchd‐cuideachaidh soar‐thoilleach airson an tachartais mhòir seo a chuir air doigh. Am bheil sibh airson ghinn air bhòrd? Tha a’ Mheur gun cathraiche aig an àm seo. Leig Tearlach MacCholla an dreuchd sin seachad, as deidh iomadh bhliadhna de dh’obair sònraichte, agus, ged a tha mi a’ cumail an cathair blath, mar iar‐cathraiche, bidh feum aig a’ Mheur air cathraiche ùr a dh’aithghearr.

What’s going on in the Gaelic world?

We are all sorry that Sarah Sutherland is going to leave her job as CnaG’s local development officer. Sarah has been doing really commendable work, especially with the young; taking groups away for weekends ski‐ing and for the John Muir award, not to men on teaching night classes. As an award winning singer she has put her talents to use helping young people prepare for the local mod. She helped the Lochaber branch of An Comann Gàidhealach obtain a grant from Bòrd na Gàidhlig to bring the renowned singer, Rionna Whyte, in to work with choirs in five primary schools throughout Lochaber, Banavie School included. At the mod everybody was saying how well Banavie had done and it is well to remember the impressive work that Deirdre Beck, and Sarah herself, had done with them. Lochaber Mod was a much bigger event this year and its outstanding success was due in large part to these key workers as well as a large number of other ac vists, notably Linda Campbell and Joanne McHale. Sarah is going to College of Educa on to qualify as a Gaelic Medium Primary teacher and we would be fortunate if she gets the chance to work in our new Gaelic medium school as I am certain that she will make a great teacher. While we bid farewell to Sarah we have to welcome another talented young woman to the area. Tara Rankine, who is about to step into Sarah’s shoes, is from Cape Breton and a member of the famous, musical Rankine Family. I would say that we are lucky to have this talented young Canadian working among us and reminding us that Gaelic is s ll an interna onal language. The Lochaber branch of An Comann has offered to hold the 2017 Na onal Mod in Lochaber and it seems that An Comann is more than happy at the prospect of a return to the district. This would bring in more than £2,500,000 to the local economy. One thing, however, is certain. If Meur Lochabair succeeds with its bid to hold the Mod, it will be looking for a lot of volunteers to get such a big event up and running. Perhaps there is a role for you to play? At the moment Meur Lochabair, the local branch of An Comann, is without Chairperson. A er many years of outstanding work Charlie McColl is standing down as chair and, although I’m keeping the chair warm, as Vice‐Chair, the Meur will need a new Chairperson fairly soon. Ronald Cameron

the great tapestry of Scotland -

update Huge congratula ons to Joan Kerr of Banavie for comple ng her epic embroidery which has now taken its place as one of the panels in the Great Tapestry of Scotland (see June 2013 issue for full background story). A er months of working into the night, Joan finally completed her panel in July and sent it off to Edinburgh to be joined up with all the 164 other panels. The en re tapestry has been on display during September at the Sco sh Parliament where it is a rac ng huge crowds. Joan has earned herself a place in history. And very touchingly, in the small bo om right hand corner of her panel where s tchers had a ny square to sign their work, Joan chose to include Kilmallie’s own pepperpot lighthouse as her emblem. Arrangements are in hand for the tapestry to tour Scotland next year, so watch out for details of where you can go and see it ‐ wouldn’t it be great if it could be on display in Kilmallie ‐ at the High School say? How on earth are you filling your me in the evenings now Joan?

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Dè tha dol ann an saoghal na Gaidhlig?

In the past, chains were used to open the canal lock gates...

link in the chain number 1: Thanks to Andy Goodwin (brought up in Banavie, now living in Gothenburg) for sending us a link to some great early film footage showing the train coming right up to the canalside to meet the steamer. It shows both the paddle steamer and steam engine steaming away at the same me. Brilliant, even if you’re not a steam fana c. You can see it on YouTube. Search for: Sco sh Railways in the 1930's. Film 17032. The footage of Fort William and Banavie starts 8 mins in to the film.

link in the chain number 2: Andy’s father Donnie Goodwin was a diver and a lockkeeper on the canal

link in the chain number 3:

John, the present canal superintendent, remembers Andy playing shinty for Banavie Primary School, at Annat Farm where the pitch used to be.

link in the chain number 4:

not quite the same genera on, but there’s a great picture of Banavie Primary School’s shinty team on page 28!

link in the chain number 5: at a different Primary School, Kilmonivaig, in the 1990’s, pupils made a video about Queen Vic's visit to Banavie locks and called it "Ernie's Big Day" as a thank you to re red Banavie lock‐keeper Ernie MacLugash for helping them to learn about how the canal works

link in the chain number 6 one of the pupils who remembers making the video with Ernie was Richard ‐ who sculpted the dri wood pony on page 24!

on 16 September 1873, at 8:47am...

More about the Gondolier and the railway in future issues, with thanks to Iain Henshaw for reference material

PS Gondolier (? at Fort Augustus). Thanks to Tom Lee’s deligh ul Paddle Steamer Picture Gallery for this photo

...140 years ago, almost to the day, Queen Victoria set off on her trip up the canal to Inverness on the paddle steamer Gondolier. Then, as now, royalty probably got a completely false idea of what real life was like ‐ you can imagine how everything that might have offended her eye would have been died away, screened off, or given a lick of paint. She’d been staying at Inverlochy Castle the night before, and had been driven to Banavie to embark at the pier (where the Ocean Mist je y now is) at the top of Neptune’s Staircase. PS Gondolier had been in service for 7 years, but it had been specially ki ed out for the royal occasion with carpeted decks, deerskin rugs, armchairs, Victoria tartan everywhere and festoons of flowers. Twenty years later, passengers would be able to transfer direct to the paddle‐steamer from a steam train standing alongside the canal. The Banavie line was a branch off the original West Highland line that linked the Fort to Glasgow. The Banavie branch was opened in 1895, (before the West Highland extension to Mallaig) and this greatly increased the numbers of people using the canal (present‐day poli cians please note!) The sta on s ll exists (now a private house) as does the sta on‐master’s house. But the train didn’t terminate at the sta on: it carried on right up onto the canal, and you can s ll make out the line of it today… slowly climbing up to the level of the canal and then reversing back along to the old pier. The Banavie line was effec vely demoted to a ‘branch‐branch’ line once the West Highland Extension to Mallaig was

opened in 1901. The original Banavie sta on was then renamed Banavie Pier. Nearly forty years a er, with the increasing supremacy of roads over rail and water, the branch closed to passengers in 1939, and closed completely in 1951. The story of this railway is an integral part of the story of the canal. Wouldn’t it be great if this story could be promoted in the interpreta on centre that Sco sh Canals are thinking of developing further down the hill (see page 4). It would also be great if the landscape evidence of the railway could be preserved and enhanced ‐ not diminished by lack of awareness, and hopefully not destroyed by development on the top of it.

Slightly further north, the local community are taking steps to preserve their railway heritage at Invergarry. Perhaps something akin is possible here, and could even be to Sco sh Canals’ benefit.

thanks to Sco sh Canals for this photo from their archive, (date unknown, assumed pre 1951)

there’s some great detail in this enlarged por on of the photo below of Banavie Basin ‐ the train, the car, and a full line of trees down the Staircase

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page 8 page 25 wild about kilmallie

Art Lochaber starts its new programme of workshops on 21/21 September with popular tutor Alan Anderson from Argyll who will be helping solve our pain ng challenges. This workshop to be held at An Clachan is based on landscape work and considers issues like best choice of medium, composi on and tone, using photographs and many more. In October Jack Cove from Glasgow returns by popular demand to deliver a workshop en tled ’Finding the Tonal Key’. Jack will help us to select and simplify our lights and darks, and let our colours breathe. 26/27 October at An Clachan. November sees the second workshop of Alan Anderson’s problem solving approach, this me with S ll Life as the theme. ‘ Pain ng Problems –

where to start ? S ll Life ’ is to be held at An Clachan on 23/24 November. If you would like to a end one of the above workshops we would be delighted to hear from you. No need to join for your first workshop – try and it and see, then decide if you wish to join in order to a end another. If you do wish to join, subscrip on for the year is £15, which includes, amongst many benefits, a personal page in the members gallery on our new website artlochaber.com. We are pleased to announce that all our weekend workshop fees remain at the heavily subsidised and very reasonable cost of £45. All booking enquiries to Catherine on 01855 821231. (Men on if you’d like a li too!) Lorna Finlayson

Beautiful Banavie ??? This is the sight that greeted me on my dog walk this morning! It is a sad and depressing indictment on today’s society that rubbish like this can be dropped less than 10 metres from a li er bin. But who is responsible? Is it the unthinking individuals who could not be bothered to get out of the car and walk the short distance to the bins? Is it the fast food company who care nothing of the unwanted social consequences of their business and are only interested in profit making and tax avoidance? Is it Sco sh Canals who should wake up to the possible problems that will arise with further development at the Banavie basin? Or is it each and everyone one of us that cares for our local community and should take every opportunity not only to pick up our rubbish but to speak out when this sort of behaviour is encountered. I feel strongly that we should all feel a duty to look a er our community and Keep Kilmallie dy. Andy Wilmington

whitta lotta litta! A number of Kilmallie residents have approached KCC over the last few months with concerns or complaints about litter.

Meanwhile others in the community (including many of our youngest members) have been taking matters into their own hands. So this time we bring you a special 4 page feature -

a thank you to all the local STARS of the war on litter

“Li er... don’t get me started... I’ve just picked up 5 vodka

bo les, several cans, cigare e li er etc , in

the same area – trying to avoid the

dogs’ dirt while doing so.“

(from a Corpach resident)

but thanks to a team of

volunteers, it all got cleaned up so that the children could play safely again... huge

thanks to everyone who helped

KCC had complaints about the amount of litter and broken

glass in the children’s play area at Guisach

Terrace

Kshama adds - needless to say, Andy and I picked up all the rubbish!

is our litter problem

something that the Fort William Community

Warden can help with, or the

Criminal Justice Service team?

maybe we can all help?

by taking our litter home?

by discouraging others from dropping litter?

by picking up any litter that we see?

and by asking shops cafes and pubs to help...

as Katryn so brilliantly puts it ‐

PLEASE TRY OR DUCKS WILL DIE Don’t Drop Litter

Please

? Thanks to all the Banavie Primary School pupils for their great anti-litter

posters which you can spot in various places. This one has to be our favourite EVER! Great graphics! Great thinking behind it! Great work

from Katryn in P7.

The west coast of Scotland is a wonderful place to go to see whales, dolphins and porpoises. Just by heading west from Kilmallie, areas off Arisaig, Mull and Ardnamurchan are great whale‐watching spots from land or sea.

But if you’re not up for a trip out west, what whales can you find on your doorstep in Kilmallie? Harbour porpoises, Britain’s smallest whale, can to be found enjoying the shelter and feeding opportuni es of Lochs Linnhe and Eil. Porpoises are small, inconspicuous animals, usually to be seen in small groups of two or three animals, and recognisable by their small triangular fin.

Susannah Calderan

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Kilmallie Shinty Club Saturday 9th November – Kilmallie Shinty Club Dinner Dance in Caol Community Centre at 7.30pm with the Ballochmyle Band. Tickets on sale now from Linda 700800. Kilmallie jumpers, es and junior tops are on sale now – ideal Christmas presents!! Contact Maureen Robertson on 704824.

Kilmallie’s first team have had a great season winning North Division 1. The last game of the season was played at Strathglass, Cannich and it was great for the boys to take the “big” cup home. The second team have s ll 1 league game to play. The under 17s and under 14s have had a busy me in August too. Linda Campbell, Secretary 01397 700800

1ST XV The team have been training, ge ng ready for the new season ahead. They have had two pre‐season friendlies against Isle of Mull, and have played their first league game which was in Stornoway. Here is a list of our home games for the forthcoming season– please feel free to come along to our games and support your local team.

The pitch improvement works at Banavie were due to start in June, but due to a shor all between the funding allocated and the tender prices submi ed a submission had to be made to Educa on Services in Inverness to

bridge the gap. At a recent mee ng held in HQ the extra funding required was approved, which is a huge relief to us all. The contractors (Soutars) hope to start work at the beginning of September, later than was originally planned – our main concern is that the contractors have missed the best of the weather window – let’s hope we have a dry winter! We are being decanted to our old stomping ground at the Black Parks for this season, returning to Banavie in August 2014 for the 2014‐2015 season. It will mean a bit of upheaval for players and supporters alike, but It’s a small price to pay to have a properly drained pitch and we are very grateful to ECS and Sportscotland for suppor ng this project. Pauline Donaldson

Go to www.lochaberrfc.co.uk or ‘Like’ us on Facebook

to keep up to date with all the latest news from Banavie.

YOUTH RUGBY TRAINING

(P3-P7 & S1-S2) - EVERY SAT – 10AM (S1-S2) EVERY TUES NIGHT – 7PM

(S3 –S6) – EVERY WED NIGHT – 7PM GIRLS RUGBY(S1-S6) – EVERY WED NIGHT – 7PM

Come along and give rugby a try All our coaches are SRU qualified and we are a Positive

Coaching Accredited Club

Many of you may never even have no ced them, but two superheroes from Corpach have regularly been giving up their Sunday mornings

to clear li er from the road along the Blar and along to Corpach. This is to let them know how HUGELY their work is appreciated.

They have truly ‘made a difference’ in their community in a way that humbles us all.

to the unsung superheroes of the Blar

Kick Off Date Teams

15.00 Sat 21 Sept Lochaber ‐v‐ Moray

15.00 Sat 05 Oct Lochaber ‐v‐ Shetland

15.00 Sat 19 Oct Lochaber ‐v‐ Highland

14.00 Sat 16 Nov Lochaber ‐v‐ Aberdeenshire

14.00 Sat 30 Nov Lochaber ‐v‐ Stornoway

14.00 Thur 26 Dec Presidents XV ‐v‐ 1st XV

14.00 Sat 04 Jan Lochaber ‐v‐ Banff

14.00 Sat 18 Jan Lochaber ‐v‐ Ross Sutherland

15.00 Sat 08 Mar Lochaber ‐v‐ Garoich

litterature 122 tonnes of cigare e ends are dropped every day across the UK.

On average, a piece of chewing gum costs about 3 pence, but the cost of removal is about 10 pence per piece.

The Marine Conserva on Society recorded almost 1,700 items of (mostly plas c) li er in every kilometre of Scotland’s coastline.

A Keep Scotland Beau ful survey showed that more than half of Scots have dropped li er, and almost half do it regularly. The survey also showed 62% of 45 to 54 year olds admi ed to li ering. So despite teenagers and children being perceived as the main li er louts actually all age groups are responsible for the state of our streets and open spaces.

Fishing li er is the single biggest cause of swan rescues. The cost to the SSPCA is es mated to be over £90,000 a year.

Studies indicate that the presence of li er can reduce house values by at least 2.7% and some mes as much as 11% ‐ that’s roughly a loss of between £4,000 and £17,000 on average house prices in Highland.

If you see someone li ering from a vehicle, you can contact TEC Services with the loca on, colour of car and registra on number Carr's Corner Depot Tel: 01397 709000, Fax: 01397 705735

Other people who make a difference in a completely nega ve way are the people who drop all the li er in the first place. Why does it ma er? It looks un dy it can be a health risk It encourages vermin It injures wildlife It pollutes the environment it can cause wildfires (and we don’t need

any more of them in Kilmallie) It wastes public money (in short enough supply) It’s a crime (and you can be charged for it, see story right) It gives a bad impression to tourists, who so many of our

community rely on for a living It gives a bad reputa on to the schools and businesses and

other places the li erlouts have come from and it erodes pride in your community, and encourages other

people to drop li er too

Highland Council Environmental Health Officers can issue a £50 on‐the‐spot penalty no ce to anyone dropping li er. It’s not an empty threat ‐ we heard of someone who was recently fined for dropping a cigare e end in the street. They were outraged as they’d just put the packaging from their lunch very responsibly in the nearby bin, but they’d assumed that cigare e ends didn’t count. They found out to their cost that that was wrong, and there was nothing they could do about it.

As Highland Council very poe cally puts it:

flingin’s mingin!

Banavie’s Richard Bracken, ar st in residence at Room 13, created this beau ful dri wood pony at Caol Youth Centre. It was transported (by Shela Ryan’s horse box!) across Morvern where it was completed with the help of people a ending the 'Meet the Drovers' event at Achnaha, Lochaline (where it should s ll be!).

driftwood drove pony

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e up the watter Having friends to stay is a great excuse for doing things and going places that you don’t usually do at home. And taking a trip up Loch Eil is a great way to show those friends some unusual sights of Kilmallie. Who would have thought that porpoises are members of our community too ‐ but sadly they didn’t come close enough for a picture on that par cular calm July evening. Thanks to Crannog Cruises for the pa er up the wa er.

what a dump! When I was a brat in Banavie Primary School, way back in the 50’s, the Glen of the Allt Mòr,

downstream of the tunnels under the canal, was a place of real beauty which had a sort of magic for kids

with a sparkling burn running through a wooded glen. Then, in the 60s some luna c had the incredible idea of

turning it into a dump. First of all the burn was made to run through pipes onto which huge quan es of peat and building rubbish were dumped and what was once beau ful became a blot on the landscape. Although the pipes used were about a metre in diameter they weren’t nearly big enough. Nature and a wild burn were quick to re‐assert ownership of the glen. Anyone who has paddled a kayak on a river in big spate, who has felt the power and known the fear, could have foreseen the contempt with which the pipes and much of the peat were swept aside. The peat ended up in Loch Linnhe and the pipes were le sca ered about like stranded whales. They lie there ro ng to this day. The whole sad saga is an appalling episode of environmental vandalism for which somebody really ought to have gone to jail. The burn never really managed to reclaim all of its domain. Much of the peat remained and over the year people have con nued to dump all manner of rubbish on the western side of the glen, at a place which the authori es now call Mount Alexander. Much of the material is waste from the construc on industry and its being dumped in this manner is highly illegal. Nasty looking effluent leaks out of the dump and into the River Lochy. During this dry summer the last 50m of the burn shrank to a stagnant pool of reddish brown sludge. One would hope that this consisted mainly of iron rust but, without analysis, there is no way of knowing. Nobody knows what has been abandoned here. It would be a cheap place to get rid of asbestos and other hazardous materials which is why dumping is controlled by law and all such sites are meant to be licensed and supervised. At the moment almost all of the dumping seems to be being done by one roofing company with a Fort William address. There are piles of broken slates and les, half buckets of cement, silicone tubes, damaged blue tarpaulins and much more beside.

Responsibility for dealing with this sort of thing lies with SEPA who have known about it for years and who seem long on excuses and short on ac on. They have wri en to the slater but he doesn’t seem to be impressed. So why should we be concerned? Apart from the obvious problem of not knowing what is being dumped on our doorsteps and what effect it might have on our life expectancy there is a clear danger to the Lochy and its fish stocks. At the moment most of the stuff being dumped is merely ugly and an eyesore, right beside the Great Glen Way; scarcely a good adver sement for Lochaber. The real threat of uncontrolled, unofficial dumps like this is that someday somebody with half a brain and no conscience will dump something really nasty there, rather than pay to have it disposed of properly. Just downstream is Caol, Scotland’s biggest village! Are there any solu ons? At the moment building contractors need to hire skips to dispose of waste. This works well enough for bigger jobs but is prohibi vely expensive for small ones. Perhaps there should be a building trade skip sta oned somewhere, like the re‐cycling centre, where builders can dump waste in return for an annual fee. Perhaps we need to lobby our MSPs so that SEPA can be given more powers to deal with a problem that isn’t unique to Banavie. Ronald Cameron

pearls of wisdom Following last issue’s piece about dog fouling, KCC received a

complaint from a Corpach resident about horses and riders... “What about horses’ droppings?“ she said. “Horses are less numerous but the droppings are enormous! The pavement on the north side of the main road and the pavement of the Banavie Old Road have several piles of horse droppings. To all pavement users, but especially children, pram pushers or wheelchair users, this is unacceptable.” While most people are aware that it is an offence to let a dog foul the footpath, KCC were unclear about the situa on regarding horses, so we did some research. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a right of responsible access to a wide variety of land for horse riders, including paths and tracks, beaches and coastline, most urban parks, farmland and woodland, and a variety of managed open spaces. We couldn’t find anything published by Highland Council, but we did find a really useful leaflet from Fife Council which presumably applies equally here in Kilmallie in terms of law and prac ce... It says “Unlike dog faeces, horse dung does not carry disease. It is not a threat to human health. There are no laws against horse fouling in public places and no legal requirements for the riders to

clear up. However fresh dung or large quan es of dung on a path, especially on a mul ‐use path, can be unpleasant. It can even completely block access for some other users, eg people in wheelchairs or with pushchairs, and it can be a trip hazard for visually impaired people.”

The leaflet gives the following guidance for riders:

“If you are aware that your horse has dunged outside someone’s driveway, in a car park, or on a very busy path, it is courteous to dismount and kick the dung to the side or to return as soon as possible to move it.”

“If you are aware your horse is going to foul, push him over to the side of the path before he starts.”

The leaflet gives the following guidance for other path users:

“Be aware that a horse can dung without the rider even knowing it is happening.“

“It is o en not safe or possible for a horse rider to dismount and clear up behind their horse immediately so please respect this.”

“Horse dung is good for biodiversity, totally biodegradable and good for the compost bin.”

Hopefully with courtesy and understanding all round, this issue will cease to be a problem for Kilmallie’s human and equine residents. One KCC member recalls, in the days long before plas c carrier bags, regular expedi ons with her mother to fill shopping bags with horse droppings for the garden. If you do spot horse droppings on the footpath, it’s well worth collec ng it for the compost heap (if you don’t mind a rac ng a few strange looks). Horse dung is apocryphally great on rhubarb, but we prefer custard with ours.

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update from sub-saharan africa! It’s hard to believe we are almost 5 months into our Malawian experience as volunteers with Ndi Moyo Pallia ve Care in Salima. I am happy to report that Peter is now feeling well and the cardio‐version, which he travelled to Nairobi again in June to have, has been totally successful, so the decision to stay here and crack on with the job was the right one. We will return to Nairobi again in October for what we hope to be his last check up. We are very se led and happy here and have become more familiar with the work here alongside its many frustra ons and the completely different me zone the Malawian people live in! These people rush for no one – a relaxed unstressed pace which I suppose we could all take a lesson from I think. One of the clinic staff commented one day that he was pleased to see I had slowed down, as he had been very concerned at the pace I walked when I first arrived! Peter actually rather likes this slower pace so I have had to learn to adjust. Mind you, the slow pace can be equally frustra ng when it spills over into the work place. Mee ngs rarely start on me – people dri in up to an hour and more a er the set me and no one turns a hair. We keep saying we are going to

take account for this the next mee ng we are called to but somehow our Bri sh roots won’t let us and we sit there like a pair of lemons wai ng for proceedings to begin having been the first to arrive yet again! In the centre we have introduced the concept of ‘Sco sh me’ whereby the morning gathering of staff and pa ents for hymn singing and prayer (a lovely way to start the day) was any me from 8.30‐9am is now bang‐on 8.30am and the banging of the drum summons everyone from their clinic/administra ve du es to the central dome for a mely start. We find now that even if we are not there the me schedule is kept to and staff are keen to ensure this

stays! The work place is a pleasant place to be. We have had two new nurses join the team in June and July and they have se led well providing me with lots of teaching prac ce, as neither had worked previously in Pallia ve Care. We at last have our full team complement so clinics and outreach work are much easier to run. A number of new developments have been introduced and are working well. A new database has been ini ated and ensures that the informa on entered regarding pa ents, treatments etc can be pulled to help write reports, something the rather clunky an quated system previously used has not done for some me. New pa ent records have also been piloted, amended and accepted so all in all things are progressing apace. Peter has been mainly developing the Strategic Plan and for one who knew li le about pallia ve care he has taken it all in his stride and produced a very good report. The economist in him has at mes baulked at the cost of end of life care but he is much

more aware of the very real benefits this brings to so many with advanced disease and he has become a real advocate in spreading the pallia ve care word at regional and na onal mee ngs. The morphine crisis I reported in the last edi on, has become much more of a reality again as the country has run out of morphine powder completely! This of course was not reported un l there was no stock le . Everyone blamed someone else and it went back along the chain so that no one would take responsibility. Thankfully we had a reasonable stock and judicious use has enabled us to keep prac sing. There are some morphine products in the country from large

donors eg UNICEF for use with in the HIV units albeit many of these do not use the drugs, but it is at mes difficult to source and it can sit in distribu on centres for months wai ng for someone to produce a distribu on list! Very frustra ng and me consuming. Thankfully, having by now built a network of

like‐minded professionals we have gained access to some of this stock but we are aware of other hospitals/clinics which are func oning without access to morphine. On the plus side the whole situa on has demonstrated an increased awareness of pallia ve care and an evident increased use of this essen al drug. We, along with others, are now trying to source a be er method of gaining a constant supply of morphine into the country to avoid such crisis happening again. Our other main news is that we have at last moved into our own home and much as we enjoyed house‐si ng for the Finchs (founders of Ndi Moyo) whilst they were visi ng UK it has been such a joy in the last week to finally unpack our suitcases and hang up our clothes for the first me. Our new home is by the lakeside, par cularly important as the hot season starts, and although not quite as pala al as out last lodging, it is quite adequate for our needs. Now we just need to find some friends! I am constantly amazed at the resourcefulness of the people here, none more so than the children. There are no toys available in this very poor rural area but children everywhere are seen to be playing, together and alone with home‐made toys. Boys play football with balls made from plas c bags and rubber bands whilst girls use the same balls but focus on netball, the ‘nets’ made from rubber tyres nailed to a thick branch sunk into the sand. Skipping and jumping games with ed rubber bands is another favourite, while young children push around the most amazing toys made from fishing floats and bits of wire. There are no distrac ng television or computer games to keep them indoors. Children roam free it seems, occasionally seen carrying machetes or ‘slashers’ on their way to cut branches for the fire. We see them minding these fires, unsupervised, but I also see many children with horrific burns in the hospital because of this too. Everywhere one goes there are children playing, laughing, running, skipping and as we pass they leap up to wave. They love ge ng their photos taken and even more to seeing the results! We have enjoyed our weekends off here taking advantage of the lovely climate and travelling fairly widely throughout the country camping in some beau ful areas. Tourism is not well developed as the infrastructure is so poor but selfishly this ensures that we o en have campsites to ourselves! Waking up to the sound of birdsong is wonderful and si ng round the campfire at night watching the huge African skies with their myriad stars and constella ons makes us appreciate how blessed we are to be here at this me. Further updates will be made as we con nue this work. If anyone would like to follow the process more closely, there is a group se ng on facebook which I try to add to on a weekly basis. Type Ndi Moyo into the FB search bar and you should

get an ‘open group’ op on. Otherwise my email address is Kathryn.hamling@hotmail.com and I do so enjoy hearing tales from Corpach and surrounds! Our fundraising webpage remains open for anyone who would like to contribute: www.everyclick.com/peterandkathryn .

Kathryn Hamling

... and car‐buncles in the landscape... Li er isn’t just small stuff like swee e papers and drink cans: it’s big stuff too like fridges, ma resses and cars! Four well‐rusted vehicles have been disgracing the bonny banks of the Lochy for many years. They are now gradually ge ng chopped up and taken away to be disposed of properly, thanks to one ac vist who is volunteering his me, hard gra , and even the cost of some plant hire. A very big thank you to the not‐so‐young Local Hero concerned, for his much appreciated services to the community and our environment. No thanks to the original dumpers, or to the authori es who are either powerless or reluctant to help.

community heroes, young and not so young Banavie School’s li erpick at Corpach in June (see KCC’s website for full size, full colour pictures) (also more pix on page 18)

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The Gardens at Buckingham Palace were the venue for a one‐off event this summer for holders of the Royal Warrants to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s Corona on. Marine Harvest Scotland took part in the four day celebra on between the 11th and 14th July 2013. Royal Warrants are a mark of recogni on to individuals or companies who have supplied goods or services for at least five years to the Households of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh or The Prince of Wales. They have always been regarded as hallmarks of quality, excellence and service. We were awarded our pres gious Royal Warrant in 1990 and joined over 200 other

Royal Warrant Holders at this unique event. The Fes val was open to members of the public, a er a Royal Preview on the Thursday for invited guests, including members of the Royal Family, chari es, patronages, media, armed forces, inward investors and overseas trade missions, and guests of the Royal Warrant Holders Associa on and the Royal Household. In the evenings, on a stage that had been erected at the back of Buckingham Palace, there was music from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Ka e Melua, Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and The Feeling. New Adventures and the English Na onal Ballet also performed. Our team comprised 22 staff represen ng a range of departments within the company and we took it in turns to man

the stand. We had maps showing the loca on of our farms, a rolling video of the salmon life cycle, iPads with the new Marine Harvest Scotland apps with recipes and Sam’s Slide game. A fish chiller held our gu ed salmon and what we supply to Her Majesty ‐ 125g skinless, boneless por ons known as Queen’s Por ons. We gave visitors a taste of our salmon with pre‐prepared canapés, and an opportunity to learn how to cook salmon in the Kitchen Theatre with a cookery demonstra on from Chef Sophie Wright. For our team it was an absolutely unique experience but also very importantly, an occasion to proudly fly the Marine Harvest flag before 60,000 people. Jayne MacKay, Tomonie

Eco News On the Thursday the 27th of June, Banavie Primary School was awarded its third eco flag, thanks to all the hard work put in by pupils, supported by staff and parents alike. During eco week in school, we had a lot of work to do, such as weeding around the beds and we held different focused eco days, such as a no-paper day, a healthy eating day, a no-packaging day and a no-energy day, which was fun. At our Eco Assembly that Friday, we discussed what still needed to be done and parents came in to help, which we really appreciated and allowed us to gain our third flag. Jack Steer and Rhiann Dempster

Holiday 2013 We surveyed every class in the school and asked each pupil about their summer holiday destinations. Of those who went abroad, Spain was definitely the most popular with 11 pupils going there. This was followed by France with 6 and America and Poland with 2. Other countries visited were Egypt, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and Portugal. In Scotland, the most popular place visited was

Glasgow with 13, followed by Edinburgh and Inverness with 11. Elsewhere in the UK, Oxford and Alton Towers were top destinations. Everyone agreed that they had enjoyed their summer holidays. Maria Halliwell, Millie Jackson, Cam Clark and Robbie

Murray

Macmillan coffee

morning We are holding a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, on Friday 27th September 2013 at 11.00am in Banavie School Hall. Please come along and support this extremely worthwhile charity and all the valuable work that it does. Jo Barr Moir and Ria Watson.

My Summer by Matthew McKeown

My Summer was great, the Yellow sun shining.

Seaside full of people Umbrellas out of sight Magnificent meadows full of flowers Magnums melting in the sun. Everyone’s happy in summer but it’s Rubbish autumn has come

My Summer by Neilie Clark

My summer was an exciting trip to Glasgow You should see the new guitar I bought!

School shoes are Kickers. Under the hot sun. Macdonalds, it was lovely! Mum shopping Erin’s birthday Really exciting!

Marine Harvest’s factory isn’t quite in Kilmallie - it’s on the other side of the tracks, technically in Caol, and their nearest farm is at Gairlochy. But nevertheless we knew you’d like to read about their trip to the palace, especially since some of their staff

live in Kilmallie, including Steve Bracken and Jayne & Angus MacKay

who are in the photo

KILMALLIE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS FUND Since the publica on of the last Community Newsle er, members of our small fundraising group have met on several occasions. We have now circulated le ers to local businesses asking for financial support and have been reassured by the generosity of the response. Accordingly we are now hopeful that we will be able to provide Christmas lights in the tradi onal manner at the two usual sites at Banavie and Corpach.

More informa on along with a list of our supporters will appear in the Christmas edi on of the Newsle er. Meanwhile any member of the community who would like to contribute financially should contact our treasurer Sue Hood (tel 722400). There are also collec on boxes sited in local shops and businesses. Paul Brian Chairman, Kilmallie Christmas Lights Fund

a right royal

occasion

From L to R: Angus MacKay, Calum MacDonald, Davy Corrigan, Dave MacEwan, Jayne MacKay, Steve Bracken

funding fears

KCC heard that one or two local businesses were a bit fed up receiving requests for money from KCC (for the newsle er) and from the Christmas Lights Fund within a few days of each other, thinking we were one and the same. We apologise for any upset this may

have caused. But just to explain, KCC and the Christmas Lights Fund are two completely separate organisa ons ‐ and we were not aware that we would be approaching Kilmallie businesses at around the same me. In this instance the Christmas Lights Funds happened to get in first, and enthusiasm for sponsoring Kilmallie Community News may have suffered as a result. Unfortunately this is likely to happen more and more o en as public services are curtailed and as more community groups set up to try and deal with the gaps, needs and shor alls that ensue. KCC are unable to take on all these things ourselves, so it is probably inevitable that separate groups will proliferate, and we

will all risk beleaguering the same businesses with requests for financial help. This would be unfortunate for the askers and very irrita ng for the businesses, especially when some of them will be struggling to survive in difficult mes. At the same me, sources of money like Highland Council’s Ward Discre onary Fund are increasingly under pressure, and it is o en hard to apply for grants for ny projects and ones that run on year a er year. What is the solu on? Some community councils are wealthy, or poten ally wealthy, thanks to community benefit funds from eg Glensanda quarry, or major hydro schemes. But Kilmallie is not in that enviable posi on. Maybe a Kilmallie Community Fund? A common pot like this would mean that businesses would only get one request a year, and the pot could be divided out equitably each year between all the deserving community groups and causes that applied, and all duly accounted for. Let us know what you think, or if you have any other ideas.

intrepid fundraisers Owen Pescod and Fraser Clark, both 9, and Rosie Clark, age 12, wanted to raise money towards a new off‐road buggy for Rowan Macleod (age 14). Rowan has cerebral palsy and is a former pupil of Banavie Primary School. Rowan and Rosie are both former pupils and Owen and Fraser currently a end Banavie School. With support from their dads they successfully climbed Buchaille E ve Mor in September and raised a total of £339 through sponsorship and the selling of home baking made by Fraser and Rosie's granny. Pictured is Rowan in her new off‐road buggy which will allow her and her parents the freedom to explore many more places.

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page 20 page 13

The AGM for Kilmallie Community Company was held on Tuesday 23rd July. As usual the main jobs were to review progress, look at the accounts and elect directors.

Paul Brian welcomed all to the mee ng and thanked everyone for their support. He explained that the AGM was necessary and an opportunity for any ques ons. He gave a summary of the companies forma on up to date. Since the last AGM a few individuals have kept a watching eye on the woods and have cleared away li er. In August we invited John Dye to come and do some tree bores in the pine wood. The result is that we now know the trees are about 180 years old. We had only one work party in May in the oak wood when we cleared li er, pulled up holly seedlings and removed one or two hanging branches. To save money we closed our web site but transferred all the informa on to the Kilmallie Community Council site. This combined with regular contribu ons to the council news le er has given us a much be er profile.

Our a en on was drawn to our limited funds, barely enough to pay next years bills. At some point we will have to raise addi onal funds. Also membership requires a en on; we need to keep recrui ng new members in order to support our claim to represent the community and bring in new blood.

David Govan explained our accounts copies of which were circulated. He said that the level of expenditure was very low but we had only sufficient balance to cover this and next years expenditure. If we had any sort of emergency then addi onal funds would need to be raised. The chairman thanked David for his work.

Two directors re red. Paul Brian having served 5 years and Roddy Mainland having served three. Roddy was prepared to stand again. John Ireland was prepared to stand. Denis Barnes was proposed as a co‐opted director.

Secretary proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing chairman Paul Brian. He in turn said he had enjoyed his 5 years as director and thanked his fellow directors, secretary and treasurer for their interest and work. He thought we had the right approach low key and a minimum of interference but hard work when the need arose.

Paul Biggin

August/September 2013 Pupils and staff returning to Lochaber High a er the summer break could have been forgiven for thinking that a bomb had gone off at the school; classrooms had disappeared, corridors were boarded up and there were piles of rubble all around! However, closer examina on revealed a well‐organised construc on site and there was widespread amazement at how much had been achieved over the summer holidays. Robertson Construc on staff, along with a host of sub‐contractors, have really got to grips with phase 3 of the

Lochaber 21 refurbishment and rebuilding project and I can only praise the efforts that were made to ensure the school was ready to open at the start of term. The first and most obvious change is the new car park, neatly lined and soon to have the addi on of much need ligh ng. Re‐cladding and re‐roofing the three‐storey block is underway and new Guidance offices have been created. Rooms G26 and 27, the canteen, kitchen, chimney/water tower and the hall foyer/corridor have all been demolished to make way for a new central block which will include a new main entranceway, recep on,

admin offices, staffroom, toilets, Sixth Year room and – most importantly – a large library/resource area. Once we occupy this new building, the current admin block at the front of the school will be demolished. The coming session will, I’m sure, bring some challenges and inconveniences as the building work progresses but the end product will be well worth the effort and will really transform the way our school looks and func ons. Our pupils received their SQA results on 6 August and many did extremely well; a testament to the hard work of both pupils and staff. Next year pupils in Fourth Year will be si ng the new Na onal examina ons which will replace the current Standard Grade and Intermediates. These examina ons are part of the na onal Curriculum for Excellence ini a ve and, as well as making the assessments more relevant, will make the range of qualifica ons easier to understand for parents and employers. Ge ng to grips with these new qualifica ons is the main focus of our improvement planning for the coming year. The new session, as always, sees new faces arriving at the school: 144 new first years along with a number of new enrolments further up the school means that our roll has risen slightly to 873 pupils. There are new faces on the staff too, pictured le to right are: Miss Leanne Blair (Art & Design); Mr Husayn Al‐Khairulla (Chemistry); Miss Mariann Couper (Biology); Mr David Rankin (Art & Design) and Miss Lynsey Rankin (English). Miss Elizabeth Gow has taken up post as Ac ng Depute Head Teacher, replacing Mr Reynolds who has moved to Ross High School, Tranent as Head Teacher. We are currently adver sing vacancies for teachers of Compu ng Studies and Technical. Events this term include the annual fundraising ‘High School Hike’; an Outward Bound trip to the Lake District for a group of S2 pupils; a senior Art & Design trip to Edinburgh; University Open Day trips for S6; a ‘Driving Ambi on’ course for S6 and ‘The Big Photo’ (a formal photograph of all the pupils and staff). The absence of a hall this term will restrict our ac vi es somewhat but pupils from our Higher Drama class will be staging "I read the news today, oh boy..." on Tuesday 1 October 2013. Five short plays, wri en and directed by pupils, will be performed in the Drama Studio. A limited number of ckets will be available. The session ahead will undoubtedly be busy with many opportuni es for our young people to par cipate and to achieve. Further details of what’s happening at Lochaber High School can be found on our website at www.lochaber.highland.sch.uk Jim Sutherland Head Teacher

Cnoc nam Faobh is a delight in summer, with the sunshine dappling through the canopy of oak leaves. And usually the woods are pre y much free of li er, thanks to the dedica on and hard work of the Corpach Woods volunteers who clear up a er other people. So it was ironic that while the newsle er team were preparing the feature on li er for this issue, we no ced this sad juxtaposi on of fast food adver sing and li er lout ac vity. In this case it wasn’t the snack bar’s fault: someone must have travelled a fair distance to very consciously chuck their MacDonalds’ packaging into our own community woodland. But ooops sorry, having spo ed it, the photographer intended to take the li er home, but got far o’er absorbed in taking pictures of oak leaves and sunlight and completely forgot to go back for it. If you’re passing, or especially if it was your li er in the first place, please can you pick it up and put it in a bin. Thanks!

wotta shi**a chucking litta!

news of pods at Banavie being on hold for the me being and proposals in the pipeline for visitor facili es at Banavie. wondering what the plans are for the empty Sco sh Canals’ houses at Banavie ‐ hope they’re not empty as long as Telford House at Gairlochy

great to see some of the trees we planted earlier in the year are thriving, though quite a lot of them at Neptune’s Staircase car park have been killed ‐ there are telltale signs of nibbling all round the base of the protec ve sleeves. Rabbits!

pleased to hear that the ‘no pedestrian access’ sign at Moy Bridge has been taken down: thank you Sco sh Canals. see new Towpath Code of Conduct www.sco shcanals.co.uk/media‐centre/press‐releases/new‐towpath‐code‐of‐conduct‐unveiled

(Friends of Caledonian Canal Lochaber) is a subgroup of

the Kilmallie Community Company. For more info, or to be added to our mailing list, contact

Jan MacLugash, 01397 772383, email: janet.maclugash@gmail.com

KCC

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page 14 page 19

Kilmallie Community Centre

The last of the modifica ons have been completed and the relevant comple on cer ficates have been received, dare I say we require some strong winds along with some heavy rain to test the last work re‐done by the roofing contractor, and this before their period of liability has expired. Sorry about this request!!! We have had very good reports of approval about the disabled toilets and the new disabled parking bays. We have had some repairs done to the car‐park potholes with s ll some of them to do and now that the darker nights are coming in we will have to intensify the car‐park ligh ng. We have started to have a ra onalisa on regarding hall equipment which has led to the disposing of 43 shabby looking chairs and some other redundant equipment being considered for the p. We have an upright piano which is free to a good home, any takers can contact any commi ee member. Every week night has a booking ie Monday and Friday Muay Thai (kick boxing) 6 ll 8, Tuesday Sco sh Country Dancing 8 ll 10, Wednesday star ng 5th September Contemporary Dancing 7 ll 8, Thursday Old Tyme Dancing 8 ll 10 star ng 19th September plus Music for All who have various dates, see posters.

Last December when we had the Christmas Tree Fes val we displayed 48 decorated trees, this took a fair bit of me and resources to get the trees and lights ready, so we are looking for some assistance this year and hope to get the trees ready , star ng the first week in December, we would like to hear from anybody or groups willing to help or take on a tree and dedicate it to a group, someone or some business to promote the community spirit, we could even have a compe on for the best dressed tree be it by group, family or street. Food for thought, all construc ve sugges ons will be considered. This is the latest update. All the Best John Macdonald, Chairman

Kilmallie Community Centre Sta on Road, Corpach, Fort William, PH33 7JH Sco sh Charity SC000604 CHAIRMAN Mr John Macdonald, Merchiston, Badabrie, Banavie, Fort William. 01397 772443 SECRETARY Mrs Norma MacLellan, 12 Hillview Drive, Corpach, Fort William. 01397 772597 TREASURER Mrs Sarah Kennedy. 0776 880 5040

The boys & girls at Kilmallie Playgroup all enjoyed an action packed last term in a centre that had become very familiar to them. The outdoor garden was in full flourish with the vegetable patches growing well and the strawberries proving too much of a

temptation for some. The children were all very enthusiastic when it came to pulling the strawberries off the plants and some commented on the smell and sweet taste at snack time. Our budding gardeners really did take the job seriously taking on the responsibility of weeding and planting. The water butt proved to be very popular and served many purposes from “making cups of tea”, forming puddles to jump in and feeding the plants. During the time at Playgroup we had enjoyed music sessions led by Clare Reynolds and the excitement was building for the summer concert. Throughout the year we met and made new friends from other centres and we were all coming together at Kilmallie Free Church to perform our mass concert. The children had been working really hard learning all their words and actions as well as how to play the instruments. The boys and girls at Kilmallie, in keeping with the concert theme ‘Weather’ had been given songs relating to the sunshine to practice. The way the children sang and played up on the stage was amazing and all parents and staff were extremely proud. They had a fantastic time and showed this with big sunny smiles! The children had lots of visits to and from the setting and it was great to see how everyone’s confidence had grown. It is proving very handy having a bus stop right outside our door as we certainly have made good use of it. One of our latest trips was into Fort William library on the bus. The children excitedly waited at the bus stop and watched for the number 46 bus coming. Everyone climbed aboard and belted in safely before we set off. At the library the children listened to stories of pirates and treasure and joined in with action songs and rhymes. This had certainly given us all an appetite and off we set to enjoy a lovely snack in the surrounds of the Alexandra Hotel finished off by practicing our sports day races on the parade. The majority of children had received an invitation to visit Banavie School, as this would be where they were going after the summer holidays. Not only were they going on a visit to the “big red school” but they were to have their sports day in the big sports field. It was really exciting especially when the children’s brothers and sisters came to watch at break time. The large number of Mums and Dads made lots of encouraging noises as they ran, skipped hopped and jumped up the field. The last event of the day was a Mums and Dads race and all the children jumped up and

down with delight filling the air with laughter. It was a brilliant day and all the children were presented with a medal and a book of memories from their key workers. All aboard, the request for the end of term trip, off we headed on the train to Mallaig where we consumed our tasty picnic and chatted and played games with our friends. Arriving at the station the group were met by 2 lovely Mallaig lifeboatmen who took them on an interesting tour of the building and lifeboat. Navigation was put to the test by using maps and steering wheels while others worked their strong muscles by pulling ropes from the safe area. We really did learn so much and could not believe how clean the boat was. Four boys and girls went with their parents on a boat ride around the harbour in search of seals. The journey back on the train was filled by colouring in and sharing stories. Kilmallie Daycare was open all summer during the school holidays. Children aged 2½-6 years old had a fun filled, productive time spending the majority of it in the great outdoors. All the children enjoyed the wonders of skimming stones in the river up at Annat, pond dipping culminating in a wonderful picnic. Den building was very popular in the local woods as was developing climbing skills on stones at Kilmallie Hall. The wondrous weather really complimented our activities around the local area. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome back our returning families and to say a warm welcome to all families joining the centre for the first time. We hope that Kilmallie Playgroup and Day Care provides an enjoyable experience for all children attending and look forward to the fun-filled year ahead. At present we are fully subscribed in the morning, spaces are available for Day Care from 12 noon onwards, if you are interested call the centre on 01397 772016 Carole

Music For All is a local music club series in Lochaber which holds around

five concerts a year between the months of October and April.

Prices Annual adult membership £38.00 Senior ci zen membership £30.00

Adult per concert £10.00 Senior ci zen per concert £8.00

Child per concert (under 18) £1.00

All concerts are taking place at Kilmallie Community Centre.

Tickets are available at the door News of further concerts from our 2013/2014 programme in next

newsle er

AGM at Bidwells’ offices, North Road, Fort William

Wednesday 2nd October 2013 7.30pm

Beryl Aus n

Wu Quartet Saturday 26th October, 7.30pm

Many classical musicians consider the string quartet‐ two violins, viola and cello ‐ to be the purest form of music. No other combina on of instruments can pack such depth and passion into so small a space. The Wu Quartet,

winner of several interna onal prizes, certainly epitomises this perfec on.

Rachel Hair Trio Friday 15th November, 7.30pm

One of the leading bands on Scotland’s vibrant folk scene, the Rachel Hair Trio presents a sparkling blend of melodic

harp mastery, rootsy songs and sophis cated rhythmical drive. Fronted by acclaimed harpist‐

composer Rachel Hair and featuring the much‐in‐demand singer‐guitarist Jenn Bu erwirth and top Sco sh

double bassist Euan Burton, the group has honed a repertoire drawn from

tradi onal, contemporary and interna onal sources to create performances that crackle with

character, passion, verve and joie de vivre.

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Boat movements for 2013 slightly up this year. Figures for the last four years above: Corpach Sea‐lock ‐‐‐‐March to December. One very interes ng point picked up by the team is the number of different na onali es transi ng the Canal this year. As well as the large number of visitors from the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden & Finland) and Western European na ons (Germany, France, Holland & Belgium) we have also had visitors from Japan, Estonia, Argen na, USA, Canada, Poland, Spain, Malta, Australia & New Zealand. All of which proves the a rac on of the Caledonian Canal and the West Coast of Scotland sailing grounds to our friends from overseas. This also benefits the Highland economy: whether they are buying groceries, having a meal, or visi ng the local Dis llery, it really must help to sustain the area. Many of the visitors have no transport so they are always looking for something to do that can be reached by public transport or taxi. Many will visit Aonach Mor chair li , climb Ben Nevis, visit Treasures of the Earth or Ben Nevis Dis llery. If any other a rac ons/services wish to be men oned in our Skippers’ Guide (given to every vessel that enters into the Canal) please get in touch with us so you may be included in future publica ons. AOB Banavie school Primary 7 John Muir Trust award clean up at Corpach foreshore June 2013 along with Sco sh Canal staff and Kilmallie Community Council volunteers (see photos) On the maintenance side of the business we have encountered a number of issues: Gairlochy Cross‐lock pipe work s ll ongoing, contractor’s job overrun. Caol in Bloom have had problems ge ng volunteers from the CJS as they are ed up on other jobs hence the grass along Kilmallie Road is not up to the usual standards.

As the end of August approaches we will be programming our Winter Works programme. Jobs to be tackled: Fencing Strone & Banavie Ditching work Moy Farm Electrical points for boats Gairlochy Pontoon re‐furbishment Corpach visitor & Gairlochy

reach Towpath repairs Gairlochy to Banavie plus various other small

jobs.

John Stafford

2010‐West 27 60 72 171 206 120 44 34 15 1 1 4 755 East 19 38 67 140 173 117 61 60 19 2 1 4 701

2011‐West 24 78 83 142 260 138 33 28 16 6 2 0 810 East 11 43 84 132 175 121 79 71 14 2 2 0 734

2012 ‐West 16 68 79 134 205 125 30 29 14 5 4 8 717 East 12 43 50 129 191 118 86 57 13 4 5 3 711

2013‐West 25 65 85 135 276 107 693 East 14 37 77 127 172 138 565

M A M J J A S O N D J F Total

canal news

HM COASTGUARD AT CORPACH

A reasonably quiet quarter for your local Coastguard. June is typically the Month when our presence is requested at school fetes. We a ended Banavie and Upper Achintore schools and of course the increasingly popular Heather’s Walk. Also in June, myself and the team gave a talk and demonstra on of water rescue techniques to the Cubs and Beavers at Spean Bridge. Along with the other Emergency Services we a ended, for the 13th year, the “Safe Highlander” event at the Nevis Centre. This is aimed at Primary 7s from throughout Lochaber not just to give out safety advice but for them to ac vely par cipate in scenarios. Compared to the start of the year, May, June and July were quieter than usual. We a ended and assisted at the helicopter landing site on 7 occasions, and we assisted persons and vessels aground on 3 occasions. We also responded to a request to search for a missing child who fortunately was found before we reached the scene. A classic rescue was that of a Highland Calf stuck at the bo om of a gorge at Mucomir resul ng in one very pleased cro er. HM Coastguard was also involved in a major exercise with Fort William Fire and Rescue and the Sco sh Ambulance Service at the Underwater Training Centre. Also in June the Coastguard and Mountain Rescue were given “The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award”. A roundel is now on each vehicle and a pin badge awarded to every Rescue Officer. Finally, we now have a dedicated patrol vessel opera ng off the shores of Kintyre, Argyll and Lochaber: MCA Hunter now based at Dunstaffnage, see details opposite and picture below.

The vessel is a 42 General Patrol cra . Fully Coded to the workboat Standard. General speed: 17 knots cruising and 23 Knots Max. Vessel normally Carries a Crew of 3 / 4. Max. 8 POB, but in a SAR situa on will carry more. Capable of working 60 miles from a safe haven in moderate to rough seas. The vessel is SAR Capable. Fully fi ed with GMDSS/VHF radios. Seamaster Radar. Electronic chart / Mapping and Paper charts. All search Equipment includes, Full First Aid Equipment, all staff are qualified to a high standard. The vessel has No Night Limita ons and has a full Satellite GPS Naviga on system with Backup. Range of the vessel is 120 miles at Normal Cruising speed. Hunter carries a small RHIB capable of speeds of 18 Knots. There is accommoda on for 4 on board including Full Galley, Toilet and Shower.

Phil Wren, Sector Manager

Children’s Holiday Club at An Clachan

Monday 7th October to Thursday 10th October for children 4 - 8 years old

10am – 2pm For more information or to book a space

contact Linda 01397 700800

page 16 page 17

corpach in colour flower and produce show 2013

Winners this year were...

Treasures of the Earth Trophy (flowers) Marion Malcolm

KCC Salver (garden produce) Banavie School

Ewen & Isobel Campbell (floral art) Anne Smith

M&S Dental Care (baking & preserves) Louise Pescod

Tradewinds Shield (arts & cra ) Marion Malcolm

Margaret Cameron Memorial Trophy (best exhibit in arts & cra )

Anne Smith Corpach in Colour Trophy (most points overall)

Louise Pescod Children's Trophies

Drew Drysdale (playgroup), Kalina (nursery), Primary 1, Abby MacKay, Ciara Muir,

Catrin Muir. Corpach Hotel Trophy

(best exhibit in children's sec on) Ciara Muir Judges

Allan and Vic (flowers and garden produce) Sandra Fortune (floral art)

Isobel Campbell (baking and preserves) Margaret Antonios (children's work)

£312.30 was raised for Corpach in Colour funds. A BIG THANKYOU to all who helped and

exhibited on the day. See you all next year!

Margaret MacIntyre

I thoroughly enjoyed helping out in the raffle and learning ps on growing from all the experts who had displayed their produce. I felt proud to live in Kilmallie. It was lovely to see people receiving their trophies and also to meet the many children and adults who had taken part. I must men on Jillian's wonderful winning gingerbread: it smelt gorgeous and I think I am dying to know how to make it myself having had a sneaky wee taste. (Can we print the recipe please Jillian? But I understand if you don’t want to divulge your secrets of baking success!) I’d like to encourage Kilmallie residents to try their hand at producing and showing something at next year’s show. I feel truly inspired myself as I do every year and must thank the two Margarets for a memorable day in Kilmallie.

Kshama Wilmington

Thanks to Christine for taking pictures - you can see them all in colour on KCC’s

website. If you have more pictures of the event

that you’d like to share, of people, produce and handiwork, please email them to website@kilmallie.org.uk

page 16 page 17

corpach in colour flower and produce show 2013

Winners this year were...

Treasures of the Earth Trophy (flowers) Marion Malcolm

KCC Salver (garden produce) Banavie School

Ewen & Isobel Campbell (floral art) Anne Smith

M&S Dental Care (baking & preserves) Louise Pescod

Tradewinds Shield (arts & cra ) Marion Malcolm

Margaret Cameron Memorial Trophy (best exhibit in arts & cra )

Anne Smith Corpach in Colour Trophy (most points overall)

Louise Pescod Children's Trophies

Drew Drysdale (playgroup), Kalina (nursery), Primary 1, Abby MacKay, Ciara Muir,

Catrin Muir. Corpach Hotel Trophy

(best exhibit in children's sec on) Ciara Muir Judges

Allan and Vic (flowers and garden produce) Sandra Fortune (floral art)

Isobel Campbell (baking and preserves) Margaret Antonios (children's work)

£312.30 was raised for Corpach in Colour funds. A BIG THANKYOU to all who helped and

exhibited on the day. See you all next year!

Margaret MacIntyre

I thoroughly enjoyed helping out in the raffle and learning ps on growing from all the experts who had displayed their produce. I felt proud to live in Kilmallie. It was lovely to see people receiving their trophies and also to meet the many children and adults who had taken part. I must men on Jillian's wonderful winning gingerbread: it smelt gorgeous and I think I am dying to know how to make it myself having had a sneaky wee taste. (Can we print the recipe please Jillian? But I understand if you don’t want to divulge your secrets of baking success!) I’d like to encourage Kilmallie residents to try their hand at producing and showing something at next year’s show. I feel truly inspired myself as I do every year and must thank the two Margarets for a memorable day in Kilmallie.

Kshama Wilmington

Thanks to Christine for taking pictures - you can see them all in colour on KCC’s

website. If you have more pictures of the event

that you’d like to share, of people, produce and handiwork, please email them to website@kilmallie.org.uk

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page 18 page 15

Boat movements for 2013 slightly up this year. Figures for the last four years above: Corpach Sea‐lock ‐‐‐‐March to December. One very interes ng point picked up by the team is the number of different na onali es transi ng the Canal this year. As well as the large number of visitors from the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden & Finland) and Western European na ons (Germany, France, Holland & Belgium) we have also had visitors from Japan, Estonia, Argen na, USA, Canada, Poland, Spain, Malta, Australia & New Zealand. All of which proves the a rac on of the Caledonian Canal and the West Coast of Scotland sailing grounds to our friends from overseas. This also benefits the Highland economy: whether they are buying groceries, having a meal, or visi ng the local Dis llery, it really must help to sustain the area. Many of the visitors have no transport so they are always looking for something to do that can be reached by public transport or taxi. Many will visit Aonach Mor chair li , climb Ben Nevis, visit Treasures of the Earth or Ben Nevis Dis llery. If any other a rac ons/services wish to be men oned in our Skippers’ Guide (given to every vessel that enters into the Canal) please get in touch with us so you may be included in future publica ons. AOB Banavie school Primary 7 John Muir Trust award clean up at Corpach foreshore June 2013 along with Sco sh Canal staff and Kilmallie Community Council volunteers (see photos) On the maintenance side of the business we have encountered a number of issues: Gairlochy Cross‐lock pipe work s ll ongoing, contractor’s job overrun. Caol in Bloom have had problems ge ng volunteers from the CJS as they are ed up on other jobs hence the grass along Kilmallie Road is not up to the usual standards.

As the end of August approaches we will be programming our Winter Works programme. Jobs to be tackled: Fencing Strone & Banavie Ditching work Moy Farm Electrical points for boats Gairlochy Pontoon re‐furbishment Corpach visitor & Gairlochy

reach Towpath repairs Gairlochy to Banavie plus various other small

jobs.

John Stafford

2010‐West 27 60 72 171 206 120 44 34 15 1 1 4 755 East 19 38 67 140 173 117 61 60 19 2 1 4 701

2011‐West 24 78 83 142 260 138 33 28 16 6 2 0 810 East 11 43 84 132 175 121 79 71 14 2 2 0 734

2012 ‐West 16 68 79 134 205 125 30 29 14 5 4 8 717 East 12 43 50 129 191 118 86 57 13 4 5 3 711

2013‐West 25 65 85 135 276 107 693 East 14 37 77 127 172 138 565

M A M J J A S O N D J F Total

canal news

HM COASTGUARD AT CORPACH

A reasonably quiet quarter for your local Coastguard. June is typically the Month when our presence is requested at school fetes. We a ended Banavie and Upper Achintore schools and of course the increasingly popular Heather’s Walk. Also in June, myself and the team gave a talk and demonstra on of water rescue techniques to the Cubs and Beavers at Spean Bridge. Along with the other Emergency Services we a ended, for the 13th year, the “Safe Highlander” event at the Nevis Centre. This is aimed at Primary 7s from throughout Lochaber not just to give out safety advice but for them to ac vely par cipate in scenarios. Compared to the start of the year, May, June and July were quieter than usual. We a ended and assisted at the helicopter landing site on 7 occasions, and we assisted persons and vessels aground on 3 occasions. We also responded to a request to search for a missing child who fortunately was found before we reached the scene. A classic rescue was that of a Highland Calf stuck at the bo om of a gorge at Mucomir resul ng in one very pleased cro er. HM Coastguard was also involved in a major exercise with Fort William Fire and Rescue and the Sco sh Ambulance Service at the Underwater Training Centre. Also in June the Coastguard and Mountain Rescue were given “The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award”. A roundel is now on each vehicle and a pin badge awarded to every Rescue Officer. Finally, we now have a dedicated patrol vessel opera ng off the shores of Kintyre, Argyll and Lochaber: MCA Hunter now based at Dunstaffnage, see details opposite and picture below.

The vessel is a 42 General Patrol cra . Fully Coded to the workboat Standard. General speed: 17 knots cruising and 23 Knots Max. Vessel normally Carries a Crew of 3 / 4. Max. 8 POB, but in a SAR situa on will carry more. Capable of working 60 miles from a safe haven in moderate to rough seas. The vessel is SAR Capable. Fully fi ed with GMDSS/VHF radios. Seamaster Radar. Electronic chart / Mapping and Paper charts. All search Equipment includes, Full First Aid Equipment, all staff are qualified to a high standard. The vessel has No Night Limita ons and has a full Satellite GPS Naviga on system with Backup. Range of the vessel is 120 miles at Normal Cruising speed. Hunter carries a small RHIB capable of speeds of 18 Knots. There is accommoda on for 4 on board including Full Galley, Toilet and Shower.

Phil Wren, Sector Manager

Children’s Holiday Club at An Clachan

Monday 7th October to Thursday 10th October for children 4 - 8 years old

10am – 2pm For more information or to book a space

contact Linda 01397 700800

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Kilmallie Community Centre

The last of the modifica ons have been completed and the relevant comple on cer ficates have been received, dare I say we require some strong winds along with some heavy rain to test the last work re‐done by the roofing contractor, and this before their period of liability has expired. Sorry about this request!!! We have had very good reports of approval about the disabled toilets and the new disabled parking bays. We have had some repairs done to the car‐park potholes with s ll some of them to do and now that the darker nights are coming in we will have to intensify the car‐park ligh ng. We have started to have a ra onalisa on regarding hall equipment which has led to the disposing of 43 shabby looking chairs and some other redundant equipment being considered for the p. We have an upright piano which is free to a good home, any takers can contact any commi ee member. Every week night has a booking ie Monday and Friday Muay Thai (kick boxing) 6 ll 8, Tuesday Sco sh Country Dancing 8 ll 10, Wednesday star ng 5th September Contemporary Dancing 7 ll 8, Thursday Old Tyme Dancing 8 ll 10 star ng 19th September plus Music for All who have various dates, see posters.

Last December when we had the Christmas Tree Fes val we displayed 48 decorated trees, this took a fair bit of me and resources to get the trees and lights ready, so we are looking for some assistance this year and hope to get the trees ready , star ng the first week in December, we would like to hear from anybody or groups willing to help or take on a tree and dedicate it to a group, someone or some business to promote the community spirit, we could even have a compe on for the best dressed tree be it by group, family or street. Food for thought, all construc ve sugges ons will be considered. This is the latest update. All the Best John Macdonald, Chairman

Kilmallie Community Centre Sta on Road, Corpach, Fort William, PH33 7JH Sco sh Charity SC000604 CHAIRMAN Mr John Macdonald, Merchiston, Badabrie, Banavie, Fort William. 01397 772443 SECRETARY Mrs Norma MacLellan, 12 Hillview Drive, Corpach, Fort William. 01397 772597 TREASURER Mrs Sarah Kennedy. 0776 880 5040

The boys & girls at Kilmallie Playgroup all enjoyed an action packed last term in a centre that had become very familiar to them. The outdoor garden was in full flourish with the vegetable patches growing well and the strawberries proving too much of a

temptation for some. The children were all very enthusiastic when it came to pulling the strawberries off the plants and some commented on the smell and sweet taste at snack time. Our budding gardeners really did take the job seriously taking on the responsibility of weeding and planting. The water butt proved to be very popular and served many purposes from “making cups of tea”, forming puddles to jump in and feeding the plants. During the time at Playgroup we had enjoyed music sessions led by Clare Reynolds and the excitement was building for the summer concert. Throughout the year we met and made new friends from other centres and we were all coming together at Kilmallie Free Church to perform our mass concert. The children had been working really hard learning all their words and actions as well as how to play the instruments. The boys and girls at Kilmallie, in keeping with the concert theme ‘Weather’ had been given songs relating to the sunshine to practice. The way the children sang and played up on the stage was amazing and all parents and staff were extremely proud. They had a fantastic time and showed this with big sunny smiles! The children had lots of visits to and from the setting and it was great to see how everyone’s confidence had grown. It is proving very handy having a bus stop right outside our door as we certainly have made good use of it. One of our latest trips was into Fort William library on the bus. The children excitedly waited at the bus stop and watched for the number 46 bus coming. Everyone climbed aboard and belted in safely before we set off. At the library the children listened to stories of pirates and treasure and joined in with action songs and rhymes. This had certainly given us all an appetite and off we set to enjoy a lovely snack in the surrounds of the Alexandra Hotel finished off by practicing our sports day races on the parade. The majority of children had received an invitation to visit Banavie School, as this would be where they were going after the summer holidays. Not only were they going on a visit to the “big red school” but they were to have their sports day in the big sports field. It was really exciting especially when the children’s brothers and sisters came to watch at break time. The large number of Mums and Dads made lots of encouraging noises as they ran, skipped hopped and jumped up the field. The last event of the day was a Mums and Dads race and all the children jumped up and

down with delight filling the air with laughter. It was a brilliant day and all the children were presented with a medal and a book of memories from their key workers. All aboard, the request for the end of term trip, off we headed on the train to Mallaig where we consumed our tasty picnic and chatted and played games with our friends. Arriving at the station the group were met by 2 lovely Mallaig lifeboatmen who took them on an interesting tour of the building and lifeboat. Navigation was put to the test by using maps and steering wheels while others worked their strong muscles by pulling ropes from the safe area. We really did learn so much and could not believe how clean the boat was. Four boys and girls went with their parents on a boat ride around the harbour in search of seals. The journey back on the train was filled by colouring in and sharing stories. Kilmallie Daycare was open all summer during the school holidays. Children aged 2½-6 years old had a fun filled, productive time spending the majority of it in the great outdoors. All the children enjoyed the wonders of skimming stones in the river up at Annat, pond dipping culminating in a wonderful picnic. Den building was very popular in the local woods as was developing climbing skills on stones at Kilmallie Hall. The wondrous weather really complimented our activities around the local area. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome back our returning families and to say a warm welcome to all families joining the centre for the first time. We hope that Kilmallie Playgroup and Day Care provides an enjoyable experience for all children attending and look forward to the fun-filled year ahead. At present we are fully subscribed in the morning, spaces are available for Day Care from 12 noon onwards, if you are interested call the centre on 01397 772016 Carole

Music For All is a local music club series in Lochaber which holds around

five concerts a year between the months of October and April.

Prices Annual adult membership £38.00 Senior ci zen membership £30.00

Adult per concert £10.00 Senior ci zen per concert £8.00

Child per concert (under 18) £1.00

All concerts are taking place at Kilmallie Community Centre.

Tickets are available at the door News of further concerts from our 2013/2014 programme in next

newsle er

AGM at Bidwells’ offices, North Road, Fort William

Wednesday 2nd October 2013 7.30pm

Beryl Aus n

Wu Quartet Saturday 26th October, 7.30pm

Many classical musicians consider the string quartet‐ two violins, viola and cello ‐ to be the purest form of music. No other combina on of instruments can pack such depth and passion into so small a space. The Wu Quartet,

winner of several interna onal prizes, certainly epitomises this perfec on.

Rachel Hair Trio Friday 15th November, 7.30pm

One of the leading bands on Scotland’s vibrant folk scene, the Rachel Hair Trio presents a sparkling blend of melodic

harp mastery, rootsy songs and sophis cated rhythmical drive. Fronted by acclaimed harpist‐

composer Rachel Hair and featuring the much‐in‐demand singer‐guitarist Jenn Bu erwirth and top Sco sh

double bassist Euan Burton, the group has honed a repertoire drawn from

tradi onal, contemporary and interna onal sources to create performances that crackle with

character, passion, verve and joie de vivre.

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The AGM for Kilmallie Community Company was held on Tuesday 23rd July. As usual the main jobs were to review progress, look at the accounts and elect directors.

Paul Brian welcomed all to the mee ng and thanked everyone for their support. He explained that the AGM was necessary and an opportunity for any ques ons. He gave a summary of the companies forma on up to date. Since the last AGM a few individuals have kept a watching eye on the woods and have cleared away li er. In August we invited John Dye to come and do some tree bores in the pine wood. The result is that we now know the trees are about 180 years old. We had only one work party in May in the oak wood when we cleared li er, pulled up holly seedlings and removed one or two hanging branches. To save money we closed our web site but transferred all the informa on to the Kilmallie Community Council site. This combined with regular contribu ons to the council news le er has given us a much be er profile.

Our a en on was drawn to our limited funds, barely enough to pay next years bills. At some point we will have to raise addi onal funds. Also membership requires a en on; we need to keep recrui ng new members in order to support our claim to represent the community and bring in new blood.

David Govan explained our accounts copies of which were circulated. He said that the level of expenditure was very low but we had only sufficient balance to cover this and next years expenditure. If we had any sort of emergency then addi onal funds would need to be raised. The chairman thanked David for his work.

Two directors re red. Paul Brian having served 5 years and Roddy Mainland having served three. Roddy was prepared to stand again. John Ireland was prepared to stand. Denis Barnes was proposed as a co‐opted director.

Secretary proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing chairman Paul Brian. He in turn said he had enjoyed his 5 years as director and thanked his fellow directors, secretary and treasurer for their interest and work. He thought we had the right approach low key and a minimum of interference but hard work when the need arose.

Paul Biggin

August/September 2013 Pupils and staff returning to Lochaber High a er the summer break could have been forgiven for thinking that a bomb had gone off at the school; classrooms had disappeared, corridors were boarded up and there were piles of rubble all around! However, closer examina on revealed a well‐organised construc on site and there was widespread amazement at how much had been achieved over the summer holidays. Robertson Construc on staff, along with a host of sub‐contractors, have really got to grips with phase 3 of the

Lochaber 21 refurbishment and rebuilding project and I can only praise the efforts that were made to ensure the school was ready to open at the start of term. The first and most obvious change is the new car park, neatly lined and soon to have the addi on of much need ligh ng. Re‐cladding and re‐roofing the three‐storey block is underway and new Guidance offices have been created. Rooms G26 and 27, the canteen, kitchen, chimney/water tower and the hall foyer/corridor have all been demolished to make way for a new central block which will include a new main entranceway, recep on,

admin offices, staffroom, toilets, Sixth Year room and – most importantly – a large library/resource area. Once we occupy this new building, the current admin block at the front of the school will be demolished. The coming session will, I’m sure, bring some challenges and inconveniences as the building work progresses but the end product will be well worth the effort and will really transform the way our school looks and func ons. Our pupils received their SQA results on 6 August and many did extremely well; a testament to the hard work of both pupils and staff. Next year pupils in Fourth Year will be si ng the new Na onal examina ons which will replace the current Standard Grade and Intermediates. These examina ons are part of the na onal Curriculum for Excellence ini a ve and, as well as making the assessments more relevant, will make the range of qualifica ons easier to understand for parents and employers. Ge ng to grips with these new qualifica ons is the main focus of our improvement planning for the coming year. The new session, as always, sees new faces arriving at the school: 144 new first years along with a number of new enrolments further up the school means that our roll has risen slightly to 873 pupils. There are new faces on the staff too, pictured le to right are: Miss Leanne Blair (Art & Design); Mr Husayn Al‐Khairulla (Chemistry); Miss Mariann Couper (Biology); Mr David Rankin (Art & Design) and Miss Lynsey Rankin (English). Miss Elizabeth Gow has taken up post as Ac ng Depute Head Teacher, replacing Mr Reynolds who has moved to Ross High School, Tranent as Head Teacher. We are currently adver sing vacancies for teachers of Compu ng Studies and Technical. Events this term include the annual fundraising ‘High School Hike’; an Outward Bound trip to the Lake District for a group of S2 pupils; a senior Art & Design trip to Edinburgh; University Open Day trips for S6; a ‘Driving Ambi on’ course for S6 and ‘The Big Photo’ (a formal photograph of all the pupils and staff). The absence of a hall this term will restrict our ac vi es somewhat but pupils from our Higher Drama class will be staging "I read the news today, oh boy..." on Tuesday 1 October 2013. Five short plays, wri en and directed by pupils, will be performed in the Drama Studio. A limited number of ckets will be available. The session ahead will undoubtedly be busy with many opportuni es for our young people to par cipate and to achieve. Further details of what’s happening at Lochaber High School can be found on our website at www.lochaber.highland.sch.uk Jim Sutherland Head Teacher

Cnoc nam Faobh is a delight in summer, with the sunshine dappling through the canopy of oak leaves. And usually the woods are pre y much free of li er, thanks to the dedica on and hard work of the Corpach Woods volunteers who clear up a er other people. So it was ironic that while the newsle er team were preparing the feature on li er for this issue, we no ced this sad juxtaposi on of fast food adver sing and li er lout ac vity. In this case it wasn’t the snack bar’s fault: someone must have travelled a fair distance to very consciously chuck their MacDonalds’ packaging into our own community woodland. But ooops sorry, having spo ed it, the photographer intended to take the li er home, but got far o’er absorbed in taking pictures of oak leaves and sunlight and completely forgot to go back for it. If you’re passing, or especially if it was your li er in the first place, please can you pick it up and put it in a bin. Thanks!

wotta shi**a chucking litta!

news of pods at Banavie being on hold for the me being and proposals in the pipeline for visitor facili es at Banavie. wondering what the plans are for the empty Sco sh Canals’ houses at Banavie ‐ hope they’re not empty as long as Telford House at Gairlochy

great to see some of the trees we planted earlier in the year are thriving, though quite a lot of them at Neptune’s Staircase car park have been killed ‐ there are telltale signs of nibbling all round the base of the protec ve sleeves. Rabbits!

pleased to hear that the ‘no pedestrian access’ sign at Moy Bridge has been taken down: thank you Sco sh Canals. see new Towpath Code of Conduct www.sco shcanals.co.uk/media‐centre/press‐releases/new‐towpath‐code‐of‐conduct‐unveiled

(Friends of Caledonian Canal Lochaber) is a subgroup of

the Kilmallie Community Company. For more info, or to be added to our mailing list, contact

Jan MacLugash, 01397 772383, email: janet.maclugash@gmail.com

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The Gardens at Buckingham Palace were the venue for a one‐off event this summer for holders of the Royal Warrants to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s Corona on. Marine Harvest Scotland took part in the four day celebra on between the 11th and 14th July 2013. Royal Warrants are a mark of recogni on to individuals or companies who have supplied goods or services for at least five years to the Households of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh or The Prince of Wales. They have always been regarded as hallmarks of quality, excellence and service. We were awarded our pres gious Royal Warrant in 1990 and joined over 200 other

Royal Warrant Holders at this unique event. The Fes val was open to members of the public, a er a Royal Preview on the Thursday for invited guests, including members of the Royal Family, chari es, patronages, media, armed forces, inward investors and overseas trade missions, and guests of the Royal Warrant Holders Associa on and the Royal Household. In the evenings, on a stage that had been erected at the back of Buckingham Palace, there was music from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Ka e Melua, Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and The Feeling. New Adventures and the English Na onal Ballet also performed. Our team comprised 22 staff represen ng a range of departments within the company and we took it in turns to man

the stand. We had maps showing the loca on of our farms, a rolling video of the salmon life cycle, iPads with the new Marine Harvest Scotland apps with recipes and Sam’s Slide game. A fish chiller held our gu ed salmon and what we supply to Her Majesty ‐ 125g skinless, boneless por ons known as Queen’s Por ons. We gave visitors a taste of our salmon with pre‐prepared canapés, and an opportunity to learn how to cook salmon in the Kitchen Theatre with a cookery demonstra on from Chef Sophie Wright. For our team it was an absolutely unique experience but also very importantly, an occasion to proudly fly the Marine Harvest flag before 60,000 people. Jayne MacKay, Tomonie

Eco News On the Thursday the 27th of June, Banavie Primary School was awarded its third eco flag, thanks to all the hard work put in by pupils, supported by staff and parents alike. During eco week in school, we had a lot of work to do, such as weeding around the beds and we held different focused eco days, such as a no-paper day, a healthy eating day, a no-packaging day and a no-energy day, which was fun. At our Eco Assembly that Friday, we discussed what still needed to be done and parents came in to help, which we really appreciated and allowed us to gain our third flag. Jack Steer and Rhiann Dempster

Holiday 2013 We surveyed every class in the school and asked each pupil about their summer holiday destinations. Of those who went abroad, Spain was definitely the most popular with 11 pupils going there. This was followed by France with 6 and America and Poland with 2. Other countries visited were Egypt, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and Portugal. In Scotland, the most popular place visited was

Glasgow with 13, followed by Edinburgh and Inverness with 11. Elsewhere in the UK, Oxford and Alton Towers were top destinations. Everyone agreed that they had enjoyed their summer holidays. Maria Halliwell, Millie Jackson, Cam Clark and Robbie

Murray

Macmillan coffee

morning We are holding a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, on Friday 27th September 2013 at 11.00am in Banavie School Hall. Please come along and support this extremely worthwhile charity and all the valuable work that it does. Jo Barr Moir and Ria Watson.

My Summer by Matthew McKeown

My Summer was great, the Yellow sun shining.

Seaside full of people Umbrellas out of sight Magnificent meadows full of flowers Magnums melting in the sun. Everyone’s happy in summer but it’s Rubbish autumn has come

My Summer by Neilie Clark

My summer was an exciting trip to Glasgow You should see the new guitar I bought!

School shoes are Kickers. Under the hot sun. Macdonalds, it was lovely! Mum shopping Erin’s birthday Really exciting!

Marine Harvest’s factory isn’t quite in Kilmallie - it’s on the other side of the tracks, technically in Caol, and their nearest farm is at Gairlochy. But nevertheless we knew you’d like to read about their trip to the palace, especially since some of their staff

live in Kilmallie, including Steve Bracken and Jayne & Angus MacKay

who are in the photo

KILMALLIE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS FUND Since the publica on of the last Community Newsle er, members of our small fundraising group have met on several occasions. We have now circulated le ers to local businesses asking for financial support and have been reassured by the generosity of the response. Accordingly we are now hopeful that we will be able to provide Christmas lights in the tradi onal manner at the two usual sites at Banavie and Corpach.

More informa on along with a list of our supporters will appear in the Christmas edi on of the Newsle er. Meanwhile any member of the community who would like to contribute financially should contact our treasurer Sue Hood (tel 722400). There are also collec on boxes sited in local shops and businesses. Paul Brian Chairman, Kilmallie Christmas Lights Fund

a right royal

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From L to R: Angus MacKay, Calum MacDonald, Davy Corrigan, Dave MacEwan, Jayne MacKay, Steve Bracken

funding fears

KCC heard that one or two local businesses were a bit fed up receiving requests for money from KCC (for the newsle er) and from the Christmas Lights Fund within a few days of each other, thinking we were one and the same. We apologise for any upset this may

have caused. But just to explain, KCC and the Christmas Lights Fund are two completely separate organisa ons ‐ and we were not aware that we would be approaching Kilmallie businesses at around the same me. In this instance the Christmas Lights Funds happened to get in first, and enthusiasm for sponsoring Kilmallie Community News may have suffered as a result. Unfortunately this is likely to happen more and more o en as public services are curtailed and as more community groups set up to try and deal with the gaps, needs and shor alls that ensue. KCC are unable to take on all these things ourselves, so it is probably inevitable that separate groups will proliferate, and we

will all risk beleaguering the same businesses with requests for financial help. This would be unfortunate for the askers and very irrita ng for the businesses, especially when some of them will be struggling to survive in difficult mes. At the same me, sources of money like Highland Council’s Ward Discre onary Fund are increasingly under pressure, and it is o en hard to apply for grants for ny projects and ones that run on year a er year. What is the solu on? Some community councils are wealthy, or poten ally wealthy, thanks to community benefit funds from eg Glensanda quarry, or major hydro schemes. But Kilmallie is not in that enviable posi on. Maybe a Kilmallie Community Fund? A common pot like this would mean that businesses would only get one request a year, and the pot could be divided out equitably each year between all the deserving community groups and causes that applied, and all duly accounted for. Let us know what you think, or if you have any other ideas.

intrepid fundraisers Owen Pescod and Fraser Clark, both 9, and Rosie Clark, age 12, wanted to raise money towards a new off‐road buggy for Rowan Macleod (age 14). Rowan has cerebral palsy and is a former pupil of Banavie Primary School. Rowan and Rosie are both former pupils and Owen and Fraser currently a end Banavie School. With support from their dads they successfully climbed Buchaille E ve Mor in September and raised a total of £339 through sponsorship and the selling of home baking made by Fraser and Rosie's granny. Pictured is Rowan in her new off‐road buggy which will allow her and her parents the freedom to explore many more places.

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update from sub-saharan africa! It’s hard to believe we are almost 5 months into our Malawian experience as volunteers with Ndi Moyo Pallia ve Care in Salima. I am happy to report that Peter is now feeling well and the cardio‐version, which he travelled to Nairobi again in June to have, has been totally successful, so the decision to stay here and crack on with the job was the right one. We will return to Nairobi again in October for what we hope to be his last check up. We are very se led and happy here and have become more familiar with the work here alongside its many frustra ons and the completely different me zone the Malawian people live in! These people rush for no one – a relaxed unstressed pace which I suppose we could all take a lesson from I think. One of the clinic staff commented one day that he was pleased to see I had slowed down, as he had been very concerned at the pace I walked when I first arrived! Peter actually rather likes this slower pace so I have had to learn to adjust. Mind you, the slow pace can be equally frustra ng when it spills over into the work place. Mee ngs rarely start on me – people dri in up to an hour and more a er the set me and no one turns a hair. We keep saying we are going to

take account for this the next mee ng we are called to but somehow our Bri sh roots won’t let us and we sit there like a pair of lemons wai ng for proceedings to begin having been the first to arrive yet again! In the centre we have introduced the concept of ‘Sco sh me’ whereby the morning gathering of staff and pa ents for hymn singing and prayer (a lovely way to start the day) was any me from 8.30‐9am is now bang‐on 8.30am and the banging of the drum summons everyone from their clinic/administra ve du es to the central dome for a mely start. We find now that even if we are not there the me schedule is kept to and staff are keen to ensure this

stays! The work place is a pleasant place to be. We have had two new nurses join the team in June and July and they have se led well providing me with lots of teaching prac ce, as neither had worked previously in Pallia ve Care. We at last have our full team complement so clinics and outreach work are much easier to run. A number of new developments have been introduced and are working well. A new database has been ini ated and ensures that the informa on entered regarding pa ents, treatments etc can be pulled to help write reports, something the rather clunky an quated system previously used has not done for some me. New pa ent records have also been piloted, amended and accepted so all in all things are progressing apace. Peter has been mainly developing the Strategic Plan and for one who knew li le about pallia ve care he has taken it all in his stride and produced a very good report. The economist in him has at mes baulked at the cost of end of life care but he is much

more aware of the very real benefits this brings to so many with advanced disease and he has become a real advocate in spreading the pallia ve care word at regional and na onal mee ngs. The morphine crisis I reported in the last edi on, has become much more of a reality again as the country has run out of morphine powder completely! This of course was not reported un l there was no stock le . Everyone blamed someone else and it went back along the chain so that no one would take responsibility. Thankfully we had a reasonable stock and judicious use has enabled us to keep prac sing. There are some morphine products in the country from large

donors eg UNICEF for use with in the HIV units albeit many of these do not use the drugs, but it is at mes difficult to source and it can sit in distribu on centres for months wai ng for someone to produce a distribu on list! Very frustra ng and me consuming. Thankfully, having by now built a network of

like‐minded professionals we have gained access to some of this stock but we are aware of other hospitals/clinics which are func oning without access to morphine. On the plus side the whole situa on has demonstrated an increased awareness of pallia ve care and an evident increased use of this essen al drug. We, along with others, are now trying to source a be er method of gaining a constant supply of morphine into the country to avoid such crisis happening again. Our other main news is that we have at last moved into our own home and much as we enjoyed house‐si ng for the Finchs (founders of Ndi Moyo) whilst they were visi ng UK it has been such a joy in the last week to finally unpack our suitcases and hang up our clothes for the first me. Our new home is by the lakeside, par cularly important as the hot season starts, and although not quite as pala al as out last lodging, it is quite adequate for our needs. Now we just need to find some friends! I am constantly amazed at the resourcefulness of the people here, none more so than the children. There are no toys available in this very poor rural area but children everywhere are seen to be playing, together and alone with home‐made toys. Boys play football with balls made from plas c bags and rubber bands whilst girls use the same balls but focus on netball, the ‘nets’ made from rubber tyres nailed to a thick branch sunk into the sand. Skipping and jumping games with ed rubber bands is another favourite, while young children push around the most amazing toys made from fishing floats and bits of wire. There are no distrac ng television or computer games to keep them indoors. Children roam free it seems, occasionally seen carrying machetes or ‘slashers’ on their way to cut branches for the fire. We see them minding these fires, unsupervised, but I also see many children with horrific burns in the hospital because of this too. Everywhere one goes there are children playing, laughing, running, skipping and as we pass they leap up to wave. They love ge ng their photos taken and even more to seeing the results! We have enjoyed our weekends off here taking advantage of the lovely climate and travelling fairly widely throughout the country camping in some beau ful areas. Tourism is not well developed as the infrastructure is so poor but selfishly this ensures that we o en have campsites to ourselves! Waking up to the sound of birdsong is wonderful and si ng round the campfire at night watching the huge African skies with their myriad stars and constella ons makes us appreciate how blessed we are to be here at this me. Further updates will be made as we con nue this work. If anyone would like to follow the process more closely, there is a group se ng on facebook which I try to add to on a weekly basis. Type Ndi Moyo into the FB search bar and you should

get an ‘open group’ op on. Otherwise my email address is Kathryn.hamling@hotmail.com and I do so enjoy hearing tales from Corpach and surrounds! Our fundraising webpage remains open for anyone who would like to contribute: www.everyclick.com/peterandkathryn .

Kathryn Hamling

... and car‐buncles in the landscape... Li er isn’t just small stuff like swee e papers and drink cans: it’s big stuff too like fridges, ma resses and cars! Four well‐rusted vehicles have been disgracing the bonny banks of the Lochy for many years. They are now gradually ge ng chopped up and taken away to be disposed of properly, thanks to one ac vist who is volunteering his me, hard gra , and even the cost of some plant hire. A very big thank you to the not‐so‐young Local Hero concerned, for his much appreciated services to the community and our environment. No thanks to the original dumpers, or to the authori es who are either powerless or reluctant to help.

community heroes, young and not so young Banavie School’s li erpick at Corpach in June (see KCC’s website for full size, full colour pictures) (also more pix on page 18)

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e up the watter Having friends to stay is a great excuse for doing things and going places that you don’t usually do at home. And taking a trip up Loch Eil is a great way to show those friends some unusual sights of Kilmallie. Who would have thought that porpoises are members of our community too ‐ but sadly they didn’t come close enough for a picture on that par cular calm July evening. Thanks to Crannog Cruises for the pa er up the wa er.

what a dump! When I was a brat in Banavie Primary School, way back in the 50’s, the Glen of the Allt Mòr,

downstream of the tunnels under the canal, was a place of real beauty which had a sort of magic for kids

with a sparkling burn running through a wooded glen. Then, in the 60s some luna c had the incredible idea of

turning it into a dump. First of all the burn was made to run through pipes onto which huge quan es of peat and building rubbish were dumped and what was once beau ful became a blot on the landscape. Although the pipes used were about a metre in diameter they weren’t nearly big enough. Nature and a wild burn were quick to re‐assert ownership of the glen. Anyone who has paddled a kayak on a river in big spate, who has felt the power and known the fear, could have foreseen the contempt with which the pipes and much of the peat were swept aside. The peat ended up in Loch Linnhe and the pipes were le sca ered about like stranded whales. They lie there ro ng to this day. The whole sad saga is an appalling episode of environmental vandalism for which somebody really ought to have gone to jail. The burn never really managed to reclaim all of its domain. Much of the peat remained and over the year people have con nued to dump all manner of rubbish on the western side of the glen, at a place which the authori es now call Mount Alexander. Much of the material is waste from the construc on industry and its being dumped in this manner is highly illegal. Nasty looking effluent leaks out of the dump and into the River Lochy. During this dry summer the last 50m of the burn shrank to a stagnant pool of reddish brown sludge. One would hope that this consisted mainly of iron rust but, without analysis, there is no way of knowing. Nobody knows what has been abandoned here. It would be a cheap place to get rid of asbestos and other hazardous materials which is why dumping is controlled by law and all such sites are meant to be licensed and supervised. At the moment almost all of the dumping seems to be being done by one roofing company with a Fort William address. There are piles of broken slates and les, half buckets of cement, silicone tubes, damaged blue tarpaulins and much more beside.

Responsibility for dealing with this sort of thing lies with SEPA who have known about it for years and who seem long on excuses and short on ac on. They have wri en to the slater but he doesn’t seem to be impressed. So why should we be concerned? Apart from the obvious problem of not knowing what is being dumped on our doorsteps and what effect it might have on our life expectancy there is a clear danger to the Lochy and its fish stocks. At the moment most of the stuff being dumped is merely ugly and an eyesore, right beside the Great Glen Way; scarcely a good adver sement for Lochaber. The real threat of uncontrolled, unofficial dumps like this is that someday somebody with half a brain and no conscience will dump something really nasty there, rather than pay to have it disposed of properly. Just downstream is Caol, Scotland’s biggest village! Are there any solu ons? At the moment building contractors need to hire skips to dispose of waste. This works well enough for bigger jobs but is prohibi vely expensive for small ones. Perhaps there should be a building trade skip sta oned somewhere, like the re‐cycling centre, where builders can dump waste in return for an annual fee. Perhaps we need to lobby our MSPs so that SEPA can be given more powers to deal with a problem that isn’t unique to Banavie. Ronald Cameron

pearls of wisdom Following last issue’s piece about dog fouling, KCC received a

complaint from a Corpach resident about horses and riders... “What about horses’ droppings?“ she said. “Horses are less numerous but the droppings are enormous! The pavement on the north side of the main road and the pavement of the Banavie Old Road have several piles of horse droppings. To all pavement users, but especially children, pram pushers or wheelchair users, this is unacceptable.” While most people are aware that it is an offence to let a dog foul the footpath, KCC were unclear about the situa on regarding horses, so we did some research. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a right of responsible access to a wide variety of land for horse riders, including paths and tracks, beaches and coastline, most urban parks, farmland and woodland, and a variety of managed open spaces. We couldn’t find anything published by Highland Council, but we did find a really useful leaflet from Fife Council which presumably applies equally here in Kilmallie in terms of law and prac ce... It says “Unlike dog faeces, horse dung does not carry disease. It is not a threat to human health. There are no laws against horse fouling in public places and no legal requirements for the riders to

clear up. However fresh dung or large quan es of dung on a path, especially on a mul ‐use path, can be unpleasant. It can even completely block access for some other users, eg people in wheelchairs or with pushchairs, and it can be a trip hazard for visually impaired people.”

The leaflet gives the following guidance for riders:

“If you are aware that your horse has dunged outside someone’s driveway, in a car park, or on a very busy path, it is courteous to dismount and kick the dung to the side or to return as soon as possible to move it.”

“If you are aware your horse is going to foul, push him over to the side of the path before he starts.”

The leaflet gives the following guidance for other path users:

“Be aware that a horse can dung without the rider even knowing it is happening.“

“It is o en not safe or possible for a horse rider to dismount and clear up behind their horse immediately so please respect this.”

“Horse dung is good for biodiversity, totally biodegradable and good for the compost bin.”

Hopefully with courtesy and understanding all round, this issue will cease to be a problem for Kilmallie’s human and equine residents. One KCC member recalls, in the days long before plas c carrier bags, regular expedi ons with her mother to fill shopping bags with horse droppings for the garden. If you do spot horse droppings on the footpath, it’s well worth collec ng it for the compost heap (if you don’t mind a rac ng a few strange looks). Horse dung is apocryphally great on rhubarb, but we prefer custard with ours.

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Kilmallie Shinty Club Saturday 9th November – Kilmallie Shinty Club Dinner Dance in Caol Community Centre at 7.30pm with the Ballochmyle Band. Tickets on sale now from Linda 700800. Kilmallie jumpers, es and junior tops are on sale now – ideal Christmas presents!! Contact Maureen Robertson on 704824.

Kilmallie’s first team have had a great season winning North Division 1. The last game of the season was played at Strathglass, Cannich and it was great for the boys to take the “big” cup home. The second team have s ll 1 league game to play. The under 17s and under 14s have had a busy me in August too. Linda Campbell, Secretary 01397 700800

1ST XV The team have been training, ge ng ready for the new season ahead. They have had two pre‐season friendlies against Isle of Mull, and have played their first league game which was in Stornoway. Here is a list of our home games for the forthcoming season– please feel free to come along to our games and support your local team.

The pitch improvement works at Banavie were due to start in June, but due to a shor all between the funding allocated and the tender prices submi ed a submission had to be made to Educa on Services in Inverness to

bridge the gap. At a recent mee ng held in HQ the extra funding required was approved, which is a huge relief to us all. The contractors (Soutars) hope to start work at the beginning of September, later than was originally planned – our main concern is that the contractors have missed the best of the weather window – let’s hope we have a dry winter! We are being decanted to our old stomping ground at the Black Parks for this season, returning to Banavie in August 2014 for the 2014‐2015 season. It will mean a bit of upheaval for players and supporters alike, but It’s a small price to pay to have a properly drained pitch and we are very grateful to ECS and Sportscotland for suppor ng this project. Pauline Donaldson

Go to www.lochaberrfc.co.uk or ‘Like’ us on Facebook

to keep up to date with all the latest news from Banavie.

YOUTH RUGBY TRAINING

(P3-P7 & S1-S2) - EVERY SAT – 10AM (S1-S2) EVERY TUES NIGHT – 7PM

(S3 –S6) – EVERY WED NIGHT – 7PM GIRLS RUGBY(S1-S6) – EVERY WED NIGHT – 7PM

Come along and give rugby a try All our coaches are SRU qualified and we are a Positive

Coaching Accredited Club

Many of you may never even have no ced them, but two superheroes from Corpach have regularly been giving up their Sunday mornings

to clear li er from the road along the Blar and along to Corpach. This is to let them know how HUGELY their work is appreciated.

They have truly ‘made a difference’ in their community in a way that humbles us all.

to the unsung superheroes of the Blar

Kick Off Date Teams

15.00 Sat 21 Sept Lochaber ‐v‐ Moray

15.00 Sat 05 Oct Lochaber ‐v‐ Shetland

15.00 Sat 19 Oct Lochaber ‐v‐ Highland

14.00 Sat 16 Nov Lochaber ‐v‐ Aberdeenshire

14.00 Sat 30 Nov Lochaber ‐v‐ Stornoway

14.00 Thur 26 Dec Presidents XV ‐v‐ 1st XV

14.00 Sat 04 Jan Lochaber ‐v‐ Banff

14.00 Sat 18 Jan Lochaber ‐v‐ Ross Sutherland

15.00 Sat 08 Mar Lochaber ‐v‐ Garoich

litterature 122 tonnes of cigare e ends are dropped every day across the UK.

On average, a piece of chewing gum costs about 3 pence, but the cost of removal is about 10 pence per piece.

The Marine Conserva on Society recorded almost 1,700 items of (mostly plas c) li er in every kilometre of Scotland’s coastline.

A Keep Scotland Beau ful survey showed that more than half of Scots have dropped li er, and almost half do it regularly. The survey also showed 62% of 45 to 54 year olds admi ed to li ering. So despite teenagers and children being perceived as the main li er louts actually all age groups are responsible for the state of our streets and open spaces.

Fishing li er is the single biggest cause of swan rescues. The cost to the SSPCA is es mated to be over £90,000 a year.

Studies indicate that the presence of li er can reduce house values by at least 2.7% and some mes as much as 11% ‐ that’s roughly a loss of between £4,000 and £17,000 on average house prices in Highland.

If you see someone li ering from a vehicle, you can contact TEC Services with the loca on, colour of car and registra on number Carr's Corner Depot Tel: 01397 709000, Fax: 01397 705735

Other people who make a difference in a completely nega ve way are the people who drop all the li er in the first place. Why does it ma er? It looks un dy it can be a health risk It encourages vermin It injures wildlife It pollutes the environment it can cause wildfires (and we don’t need

any more of them in Kilmallie) It wastes public money (in short enough supply) It’s a crime (and you can be charged for it, see story right) It gives a bad impression to tourists, who so many of our

community rely on for a living It gives a bad reputa on to the schools and businesses and

other places the li erlouts have come from and it erodes pride in your community, and encourages other

people to drop li er too

Highland Council Environmental Health Officers can issue a £50 on‐the‐spot penalty no ce to anyone dropping li er. It’s not an empty threat ‐ we heard of someone who was recently fined for dropping a cigare e end in the street. They were outraged as they’d just put the packaging from their lunch very responsibly in the nearby bin, but they’d assumed that cigare e ends didn’t count. They found out to their cost that that was wrong, and there was nothing they could do about it.

As Highland Council very poe cally puts it:

flingin’s mingin!

Banavie’s Richard Bracken, ar st in residence at Room 13, created this beau ful dri wood pony at Caol Youth Centre. It was transported (by Shela Ryan’s horse box!) across Morvern where it was completed with the help of people a ending the 'Meet the Drovers' event at Achnaha, Lochaline (where it should s ll be!).

driftwood drove pony

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Art Lochaber starts its new programme of workshops on 21/21 September with popular tutor Alan Anderson from Argyll who will be helping solve our pain ng challenges. This workshop to be held at An Clachan is based on landscape work and considers issues like best choice of medium, composi on and tone, using photographs and many more. In October Jack Cove from Glasgow returns by popular demand to deliver a workshop en tled ’Finding the Tonal Key’. Jack will help us to select and simplify our lights and darks, and let our colours breathe. 26/27 October at An Clachan. November sees the second workshop of Alan Anderson’s problem solving approach, this me with S ll Life as the theme. ‘ Pain ng Problems –

where to start ? S ll Life ’ is to be held at An Clachan on 23/24 November. If you would like to a end one of the above workshops we would be delighted to hear from you. No need to join for your first workshop – try and it and see, then decide if you wish to join in order to a end another. If you do wish to join, subscrip on for the year is £15, which includes, amongst many benefits, a personal page in the members gallery on our new website artlochaber.com. We are pleased to announce that all our weekend workshop fees remain at the heavily subsidised and very reasonable cost of £45. All booking enquiries to Catherine on 01855 821231. (Men on if you’d like a li too!) Lorna Finlayson

Beautiful Banavie ??? This is the sight that greeted me on my dog walk this morning! It is a sad and depressing indictment on today’s society that rubbish like this can be dropped less than 10 metres from a li er bin. But who is responsible? Is it the unthinking individuals who could not be bothered to get out of the car and walk the short distance to the bins? Is it the fast food company who care nothing of the unwanted social consequences of their business and are only interested in profit making and tax avoidance? Is it Sco sh Canals who should wake up to the possible problems that will arise with further development at the Banavie basin? Or is it each and everyone one of us that cares for our local community and should take every opportunity not only to pick up our rubbish but to speak out when this sort of behaviour is encountered. I feel strongly that we should all feel a duty to look a er our community and Keep Kilmallie dy. Andy Wilmington

whitta lotta litta! A number of Kilmallie residents have approached KCC over the last few months with concerns or complaints about litter.

Meanwhile others in the community (including many of our youngest members) have been taking matters into their own hands. So this time we bring you a special 4 page feature -

a thank you to all the local STARS of the war on litter

“Li er... don’t get me started... I’ve just picked up 5 vodka

bo les, several cans, cigare e li er etc , in

the same area – trying to avoid the

dogs’ dirt while doing so.“

(from a Corpach resident)

but thanks to a team of

volunteers, it all got cleaned up so that the children could play safely again... huge

thanks to everyone who helped

KCC had complaints about the amount of litter and broken

glass in the children’s play area at Guisach

Terrace

Kshama adds - needless to say, Andy and I picked up all the rubbish!

is our litter problem

something that the Fort William Community

Warden can help with, or the

Criminal Justice Service team?

maybe we can all help?

by taking our litter home?

by discouraging others from dropping litter?

by picking up any litter that we see?

and by asking shops cafes and pubs to help...

as Katryn so brilliantly puts it ‐

PLEASE TRY OR DUCKS WILL DIE Don’t Drop Litter

Please

? Thanks to all the Banavie Primary School pupils for their great anti-litter

posters which you can spot in various places. This one has to be our favourite EVER! Great graphics! Great thinking behind it! Great work

from Katryn in P7.

The west coast of Scotland is a wonderful place to go to see whales, dolphins and porpoises. Just by heading west from Kilmallie, areas off Arisaig, Mull and Ardnamurchan are great whale‐watching spots from land or sea.

But if you’re not up for a trip out west, what whales can you find on your doorstep in Kilmallie? Harbour porpoises, Britain’s smallest whale, can to be found enjoying the shelter and feeding opportuni es of Lochs Linnhe and Eil. Porpoises are small, inconspicuous animals, usually to be seen in small groups of two or three animals, and recognisable by their small triangular fin.

Susannah Calderan

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Tha sinn uile duilich gu bheil Sarah Shutharlanach a’ dol a dreuch mar oifigear leasachadh sgireil CnaG agail. Tha Sarah air a bhith a’ dèanamh obair ionmholta, gu h‐araid le oighrigh, dhan toirt air falbh airson cheann sheachdainn sgitheadh agus air cursaichean còmhnaidh a thaobh Duais Iain Muir agus a’ teagaisg clasaichean Ulpan. ‘S i seinneadair clìuteach th’innte agus chuir i gu feum sin a’ cuideachadh oigridh ag ullachadh airson a’ mhòid ionadail. Chuidich i Meur Lochabair taic aigid aighinn bho Bhord na Gaidhlig gus Rionna Whyte a thoirt a‐steach a dh’obair le coisirean ann an coig bun sgoiltean air feadh sgire Lochabair, bun sgoil Bhanbhaidh nam measg. Thuirt a h‐uile daoine aig a’ Mhòid dè cho math ‘sa bha sgoilearan Bhanbhaidh agus cha bu choir dhuinn a dhìochuimh‐neachadh an obair sgoineil a rinn Deirdre Beck còmhla riutha. Bha Mòd Lochabair air leth soirbhicheil am bliadhna air sgath obair nan curaidh a tha seo, am measg eile, leithid Linda Chaimbeul agus Joanne McHale. Tha Sarah a’ dol dhan Colaiste an Fhoglaim airson bliadhna gus teisteanas aighinn mar dsear bun sgoil Gaidhlig. Tha mi lan cinnteach gum bi ise na dsear annabarrach math. Bhiodh sinn fortanach nam gheibheadh i cothrom a theagaisg anns a’ bhun sgoil ùr Gaidhlig againne. Fads a tha sinn a guidhe soraidh slan le Sarah, tha againn ri fàilte a chur ri nighean talantach eile. ‘S ann an t‐Eilean Cheap Bhreatann a tha Tara NicFhraing agus tha ise a’ dol a leum a steach dhan brogan Sarah. ‘S e buil den teaghlach, ainmeil, ceòlmhor sinach, an teaghlach MhicFhraing, no Rankine Family, a tha Tara agus chanainn gu bheil sinn fortanach gu bheil bana‐Chanadianach òg talantach a ghinn a dh’obair nar measg agus a chuir nar chuimhne gu bheil a’ Ghaidhlig athast na canan eadar‐naistenta. Tha Meur Lochabar a’ Chomainn air tabhann a chuir a‐steach am Mòd Naisteanta a cumail ‘sa Ghearasdan ann an 2017. Tha e coltach gum bhiodh an Comann barrachd air toilichte a thighinn air ais an seo agus thoireadh sinn barrachd ‘s £2,500,000 a steach dhan sgire. Tha rud eile cinnteach, bidh a’ Mheur a’ lorg mòran luchd‐cuideachaidh soar‐thoilleach airson an tachartais mhòir seo a chuir air doigh. Am bheil sibh airson ghinn air bhòrd? Tha a’ Mheur gun cathraiche aig an àm seo. Leig Tearlach MacCholla an dreuchd sin seachad, as deidh iomadh bhliadhna de dh’obair sònraichte, agus, ged a tha mi a’ cumail an cathair blath, mar iar‐cathraiche, bidh feum aig a’ Mheur air cathraiche ùr a dh’aithghearr.

What’s going on in the Gaelic world?

We are all sorry that Sarah Sutherland is going to leave her job as CnaG’s local development officer. Sarah has been doing really commendable work, especially with the young; taking groups away for weekends ski‐ing and for the John Muir award, not to men on teaching night classes. As an award winning singer she has put her talents to use helping young people prepare for the local mod. She helped the Lochaber branch of An Comann Gàidhealach obtain a grant from Bòrd na Gàidhlig to bring the renowned singer, Rionna Whyte, in to work with choirs in five primary schools throughout Lochaber, Banavie School included. At the mod everybody was saying how well Banavie had done and it is well to remember the impressive work that Deirdre Beck, and Sarah herself, had done with them. Lochaber Mod was a much bigger event this year and its outstanding success was due in large part to these key workers as well as a large number of other ac vists, notably Linda Campbell and Joanne McHale. Sarah is going to College of Educa on to qualify as a Gaelic Medium Primary teacher and we would be fortunate if she gets the chance to work in our new Gaelic medium school as I am certain that she will make a great teacher. While we bid farewell to Sarah we have to welcome another talented young woman to the area. Tara Rankine, who is about to step into Sarah’s shoes, is from Cape Breton and a member of the famous, musical Rankine Family. I would say that we are lucky to have this talented young Canadian working among us and reminding us that Gaelic is s ll an interna onal language. The Lochaber branch of An Comann has offered to hold the 2017 Na onal Mod in Lochaber and it seems that An Comann is more than happy at the prospect of a return to the district. This would bring in more than £2,500,000 to the local economy. One thing, however, is certain. If Meur Lochabair succeeds with its bid to hold the Mod, it will be looking for a lot of volunteers to get such a big event up and running. Perhaps there is a role for you to play? At the moment Meur Lochabair, the local branch of An Comann, is without Chairperson. A er many years of outstanding work Charlie McColl is standing down as chair and, although I’m keeping the chair warm, as Vice‐Chair, the Meur will need a new Chairperson fairly soon. Ronald Cameron

the great tapestry of Scotland -

update Huge congratula ons to Joan Kerr of Banavie for comple ng her epic embroidery which has now taken its place as one of the panels in the Great Tapestry of Scotland (see June 2013 issue for full background story). A er months of working into the night, Joan finally completed her panel in July and sent it off to Edinburgh to be joined up with all the 164 other panels. The en re tapestry has been on display during September at the Sco sh Parliament where it is a rac ng huge crowds. Joan has earned herself a place in history. And very touchingly, in the small bo om right hand corner of her panel where s tchers had a ny square to sign their work, Joan chose to include Kilmallie’s own pepperpot lighthouse as her emblem. Arrangements are in hand for the tapestry to tour Scotland next year, so watch out for details of where you can go and see it ‐ wouldn’t it be great if it could be on display in Kilmallie ‐ at the High School say? How on earth are you filling your me in the evenings now Joan?

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Dè tha dol ann an saoghal na Gaidhlig?

In the past, chains were used to open the canal lock gates...

link in the chain number 1: Thanks to Andy Goodwin (brought up in Banavie, now living in Gothenburg) for sending us a link to some great early film footage showing the train coming right up to the canalside to meet the steamer. It shows both the paddle steamer and steam engine steaming away at the same me. Brilliant, even if you’re not a steam fana c. You can see it on YouTube. Search for: Sco sh Railways in the 1930's. Film 17032. The footage of Fort William and Banavie starts 8 mins in to the film.

link in the chain number 2: Andy’s father Donnie Goodwin was a diver and a lockkeeper on the canal

link in the chain number 3:

John, the present canal superintendent, remembers Andy playing shinty for Banavie Primary School, at Annat Farm where the pitch used to be.

link in the chain number 4:

not quite the same genera on, but there’s a great picture of Banavie Primary School’s shinty team on page 28!

link in the chain number 5: at a different Primary School, Kilmonivaig, in the 1990’s, pupils made a video about Queen Vic's visit to Banavie locks and called it "Ernie's Big Day" as a thank you to re red Banavie lock‐keeper Ernie MacLugash for helping them to learn about how the canal works

link in the chain number 6 one of the pupils who remembers making the video with Ernie was Richard ‐ who sculpted the dri wood pony on page 24!

on 16 September 1873, at 8:47am...

More about the Gondolier and the railway in future issues, with thanks to Iain Henshaw for reference material

PS Gondolier (? at Fort Augustus). Thanks to Tom Lee’s deligh ul Paddle Steamer Picture Gallery for this photo

...140 years ago, almost to the day, Queen Victoria set off on her trip up the canal to Inverness on the paddle steamer Gondolier. Then, as now, royalty probably got a completely false idea of what real life was like ‐ you can imagine how everything that might have offended her eye would have been died away, screened off, or given a lick of paint. She’d been staying at Inverlochy Castle the night before, and had been driven to Banavie to embark at the pier (where the Ocean Mist je y now is) at the top of Neptune’s Staircase. PS Gondolier had been in service for 7 years, but it had been specially ki ed out for the royal occasion with carpeted decks, deerskin rugs, armchairs, Victoria tartan everywhere and festoons of flowers. Twenty years later, passengers would be able to transfer direct to the paddle‐steamer from a steam train standing alongside the canal. The Banavie line was a branch off the original West Highland line that linked the Fort to Glasgow. The Banavie branch was opened in 1895, (before the West Highland extension to Mallaig) and this greatly increased the numbers of people using the canal (present‐day poli cians please note!) The sta on s ll exists (now a private house) as does the sta on‐master’s house. But the train didn’t terminate at the sta on: it carried on right up onto the canal, and you can s ll make out the line of it today… slowly climbing up to the level of the canal and then reversing back along to the old pier. The Banavie line was effec vely demoted to a ‘branch‐branch’ line once the West Highland Extension to Mallaig was

opened in 1901. The original Banavie sta on was then renamed Banavie Pier. Nearly forty years a er, with the increasing supremacy of roads over rail and water, the branch closed to passengers in 1939, and closed completely in 1951. The story of this railway is an integral part of the story of the canal. Wouldn’t it be great if this story could be promoted in the interpreta on centre that Sco sh Canals are thinking of developing further down the hill (see page 4). It would also be great if the landscape evidence of the railway could be preserved and enhanced ‐ not diminished by lack of awareness, and hopefully not destroyed by development on the top of it.

Slightly further north, the local community are taking steps to preserve their railway heritage at Invergarry. Perhaps something akin is possible here, and could even be to Sco sh Canals’ benefit.

thanks to Sco sh Canals for this photo from their archive, (date unknown, assumed pre 1951)

there’s some great detail in this enlarged por on of the photo below of Banavie Basin ‐ the train, the car, and a full line of trees down the Staircase

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I first visited Fort William as a 14 year old in 1949 on a cycling tour of the highland hostels. A kind butcher in the High Street let me have two chops without taking any of my very scarce ra on book coupons. This le a so spot for the area and most years for the next 15 saw me “up North” either on the bike or, as I collected wife and family, on motor bike/sidecar. As a mining electrician working Saturday mornings it was only in the summer holidays that we were able to travel very far from the big city to our favourite area. So when, in 1965, while camping at Three Mile Water, I managed to visit the site of the Pulp and Paper mill at Corpach, there was the answer! A chat with two friendly ladies in Corpach and a look at the view and a month later I was working at the Mill. Three months later Mary and our three sons joined me in the newly built house that we s ll stay in 48 years later. The boys got the bikes they were promised and were soon into shinty, football and canoeing etc. Mary and I had done some hillwalking and some hill tracks with the bikes and were soon involved in the mill mountaineering club and s ll ge ng out cycling. I s ll had a trials motorbike to play with and we were soon se led into the community. Helping to fund raise for the village hall, working with scouts and guides and ge ng to discover the whole area soon had us feeling very much at home. There was a me when I had said you would never catch me on the end of a climbing rope but workmates soon had me hooked on steeper stuff and more and more me was spent learning new skills and ge ng new views of Lochaber. Photography had been a hobby from school days and I s ll have prints of pictures taken on that first trip by Loch Ness and

Glencoe using my mother's Kodak. That hobby became more a part of ou ngs and what a place to live in for a photographer. A change of employment from engineering to retailer as a member of the Nevisport trio found more uses for photography and I had to become more professional in my approach. Now a member of the Lochaber Rescue team it was important that pictures were good enough to be used for fund raising and recording incidents etc. By 1980 I was ready for a career change again! It was almost inevitable that photography was a possible way to go and with encouragement from a real professional friend, and Mary of course, I embarked on a new venture. Having both an industrial and retail background helped to get going in the days before so many helpful agencies were around. We decided right away that we would not do any weddings or baby photos and went for industrial and commercial clients. Great to work over the years with Bri sh Alcan, Ben Nevis Dis llery, Bri sh Waterways, HIDB, other local businesses and lots of interes ng assignments. A quirk of fate found me back in the Pulp mill which was being dismantled and this led to many visits over the years as the Paper mill was being upgraded and developed. That eventually closed as well and it was strange to have been in at the beginning and the end of the very means of us being able to live and work in this fantas c area. Having collected a fairly large library of pictures of Lochaber and the Nevis area in par cular it had been at the back of my mind to produce a book from the many files. With the advent of the computer I was able to put together things the way I wanted it and with much help from Printsmith it was produced and seems to have been well received. It s ll sells along with a collec on of prints which help to augment the pension. Having worked well past re rement age I s ll cannot go out without a camera of some kind, but enjoy shoo ng for pleasure and the occasional small paid

job. I especially enjoy the change to digital images. Wish that had happened forty years ago. What a pity that so many people knock Fort William without taking me to find out what it has to offer. We can only thank the many real people who have become good friends over the years and who all love the area warts and all. We, like many other families who moved here in the Six es and who have stayed and brought up families here, are no different from the many folks who came here over the last century to find work at the different types of employment that have evolved over the years. It is encouraging to see many young members of these families returning to the area and finding employment here. However our own three having been born in Edinburgh and brought up in Lochaber are now all living in ci es, but what a start in life they had... It is a fact that when we are away on holiday we are never reluctant to return home and are happy when we pass Crianlarach and see the hills of Glencoe and know that the Fort and Corpach are only an hour away.

Alex Gillespie

Many thanks to Alex Gillespie, who lives in Corpach, for telling us

about his enduring love of photography and of Lochaber

focus on folk

photo of Alex by Fin McRae

Many thanks to Ewen Campbell, who was able to name all the Scouts for us in the photograph from Ronald Cameron that we published last issue.

BACK ROW Bobby McBride, John Iliffe, Ian Munro, Sandy Cameron, Hugh MacDonald, Donnie Stewart, Ewen Campbell,

Caley Ross, Nigel MacPhee

MIDDLE ROW Walter P Cameron, Donald Robertson, Peter Stewart,

Charlie MacMillan, Alistair MacDougall, Duncan MacPhee, Calum Ferguson, Hugh Allison, Neil

MacMillan, Michael MacKintosh, John Carmichael

FRONT ROW Mrs J Cameron, Graeme MacKintosh, Olaf Donaldson, Ian Paton, Derek Donald, Commander Robb ‐ District

Scout Commissioner.

community policing As I write this ar cle the ‘heat wave’ we enjoyed this summer seems to be a distant memory and it’s just a few days before the Fort William young people return to school to start a new term and a new school year. Road safety ini a ves and other more local ini a ves have been undertaken without any major issues to report and the local community appear to have adapted well to the new 101 non emergency number and the 8am to 8pm opening hours of the Fort William Police Sta on. Police Scotland is currently looking for people to join the Special Constabulary and volunteer their own me to improve the safety and wellbeing of the people, places and communi es in Scotland. We are seeking mo vated individuals who are able to speak to people from all walks of life. You should enjoy working in a team environment and you’ll need integrity, pa ence and the ability to

think on your feet. Trea ng people fairly will be second nature, as will respect for diversity. If you are interested, visit the recruitment sec on of the Police Scotland website, or contact Police Sergeant Andy Bilton at Fort William Police Sta on for further details. A good rate of progress con nues to be made on the new Fort William Police Sta on and Ambulance Sta on at the Blar. The comple on of this work is s ll on target for the end of 2013. As per previous newsle er ar cles, I would welcome any feedback or comments on local Policing in the Lochaber/Kilmallie area as we con nue to priori se keeping people safe in the communi es we serve.

PS197 Andrew Bilton Liaison Officer for Kilmallie Community Council Andrew.bilton@northern.pnn.police.uk Police Service of Scotland Fort William Police Sta on, High Street, Fort William Tel 101 for non‐emergency

Back in July, Dot Ferguson, Highland Council, asked KCC for sugges ons for a name for the new house and 4 flats built at the former surgery site at Drumfada Terrace. KCC thought the best people to ask were the residents of Walter Cameron Way, so we got in touch with Maureen Fair at Hanover. Maureen asked residents for their sugges ons and 11 names came forward. At a coffee morning mee ng it went to the vote and the name chosen was ‘Nevis Mews’. ‘Nevis’ was favoured because the Ben can be seen from the proper es in Walter Cameron Way.

And ‘Mews’ was chosen because it used to be the site of the old stables for the manse, and the pony and traps used to come in there. Many thanks to Maureen and everyone at Walter Cameron Way for all their ideas, and for coming up with a great name ‐ all within the ght deadline of a week! A great community collabora on, one that beau fully links the genera ons of past, present and future. We are wai ng to hear what the Gaelic transla on will be.

mews news

Thank you to Gloria Coats, Tesco’s Regional & Corporate Affairs Manager for Scotland, who recently sent KCC a picture of their Ness Side store in Inverness, to give us a rough idea of what the store on the Blar would look like. She says it would be similar design and materials but “Ness Side is smaller than the Blah Mhor store will be”.

Freudian slip in the spelling?

past, present & ?future

the past, June 2012 , a mere 14 months ago just before the diggers

is this the future? maybe by 2015? Tesco’s vision, but the Blar version, if it happens, will be bigger

the present, August 2013 from lush and verdant to a desolate waste... Nature instantly starts trying to claim back its own, with a colony of herring gulls on the ‘lagoon’ and a dus ng of moss and algae at the water’s edge. No doubt Nature will be knocked back me and again on this site, but like

Robert the Bruce, it will never give up trying.

Anyone else recall the words of Joni Mitchell in Big Yellow Taxi?

“They took all the trees And put them in a tree museum Then they charged the people A dollar and a half just to see

'em Don't it always seem to go, That you don't know what

you've got 'Til it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot.”

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I advised the SNP led Administra on that I would be submi ng a proposal that Lochaber should have its own stand alone Area Commi ee and that I expected the SNP led Administra on to give members a free vote, which they agreed to do. That decision swept like wildfire through the poli cal groups. With the support of the majority of SNP members together with local Independent Councillor Andrew Baxter, the Independent Group was persuaded to drop its support for a Lochaber/Skye and Wester Ross Area Commi ee. This support plus that of all Local Members accumulated more than enough votes to win the vote handsomely. By se ng up Area Commi ees, we are taking a first step on the road to fulfilling a long held desire of communi es to feel closer to Local Government decision making.

The se ng up of pilot Area Commi ees over the next year will bring about further debate on how much influence they have or should have. Crea ng Area Commi ees that will sa sfy the aspira ons of everyone is an impossible task, just as it is impossible to detail at this early stage a dis nct proposal for Kilmallie without taking into account the requirements of the rest of the Caol & Mallaig Ward or indeed Lochaber. It would be easy enough for every Lochaber Councillor to produce a wish list. It will be more prudent par cularly in the first year to have every Councillor working together to ensure that both Lochaber wards receive an equal slice of any cake on offer. Cllr Bill Clark

our Highland councillors’ corner This time we asked Dot Ferguson, our Ward Manager, to explain the recent changes involved in setting up (or re-setting up) the Lochaber Area Committee (LAC).

MY HIGHLAND HOME IN CORPACH

My home in the Highlands is dear to my heart, I’ve lived here so long now I feel I’m a part Of the bricks and the stones, of the plants and the trees, Of the loch and the mountains, the skies and the seas.

When I walk in my garden, each plant is a friend For each did I nourish and lovingly tend, From seedling or plantlet I saw them all grow To the size and maturity now that they show.

I go down the road and the faces I see Are those that I know and of friends who know me, We laugh and exchange all the news of the day. I’m part of the village and here I will stay.

For here I belong and find infinite pleasure, My house is my castle – a home that I treasure, I walk in the gate to be met by my cat, And no be er welcome I know of than that.

Ruth Miller

The newly formed Lochaber Area Commi ee will comprise the seven Local Members – 3 represen ng Ward 12 and 4 represen ng Ward 22. The Commi ee will meet four mes a year (all mee ngs will be webcast) and is being established to scru nise and deliver ac ons and improvements in Lochaber. As well as taking on the responsibility for local service delivery, the commi ee will decide how delegated budgets are spent and will work with partners to promote tourism and boost the local economy, with a focus on providing efficient and effec ve services. The Commi ee will have the remit to: appoint the Leader of the Area, responsible for the running of

the Commi ee and the management of its func ons; work with partners to achieve the effec ve promo on and

future prosperity of the area including tourism and the delivery of efficient and effec ve services to its ci zens;

develop and work in partnership with Community Planning partners, including Community Councils, as appropriate, to achieve a co‐ordinated approach to the provision of services and to deliver the objec ves of the Highland Public Services Partnership;

scru nise and monitor the local delivery of services, within approved resources and strategy;

monitor the delivery of Capital Projects within the local area, as agreed within the Council’s Capital Programme;

approve delegated local func ons e.g. Road Traffic Orders, Road Construc on Consents, and Upholding Access Rights and

champion local ini a ves which promote and support the tradi onal languages, heritage and culture of the Highlands.

Dot Ferguson, Ward Manager

Does anyone remember being a scout or a girl guide? You may remember that in issue number 42 we asked if anyone in Kilmallie had any recollec ons of the scouts or girl guides as these organisa ons seem to be known to most folk who grew up in this area. We were hoping also for relevant and appropriate photos which we could share. I was delighted to hear from Sheila Su on who as many of you will know ran the shop and post office in Corpach for many years with her husband Mick. She was asked to take charge of forty or so very young girls, brownies. Mick was very scep cal… they had two children of their own!! Sheila however likes a challenge and she didn’t hesitate for a second to take up the job. In fact, she turned out to be so good at her job that Sheila was not only appointed District Commissioner but was also given responsibili es for her girls even when they were at camp abroad. In doing so, she was volunteering to work for the newly formed World Associa on of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts of which Lord and Lady Baden‐Powell as well as the Director of the World Bureau in London were ex‐officio members. Girl Guides and Girl Scouts with their new central organisa on could now plan trips abroad much more freely. The first World Centre, Our Chalet was opened in Adelboden in 1939 high in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. The stay was to show the girls how to appreciate and value the outdoors and the mul ‐cultural world. Sheila remembers with some pride and excitement, being allowed to sleep in the chalet reserved at the bo om of the garden in Adelboden for Lady Baden‐Powell when the Lady herself visited. Sheila also remembers receiving a postcard in 1957 from Su on Park, the site of the Scout Jamboree whilst she was at the Chalet for the first me and showing it to the Chief Guide. It was from the former Brown Owl. This is how Sheila says that she is certain that she knows she was at the Chalet in 1957. Sheila also has a Na onal Savings Bulle n from 1964 (see right) showing on its front cover a photo of Mrs Lumsden, the County Commissioner presen ng the Queens Guide Cer ficate to Chris ne MacBride, whose Guide Captain is standing next to her. I must thank Sheila for sharing her experiences about the girl guides in Corpach with us and we hope that she gets some joy from sharing her memories too and also we thank her for showing us her precious souvenirs which she has kept for so long. I think she must have had a wonderful me with the Brownies and girl guides.

Kshama Wilmington

Ronald Cameron sent us a scan of this slide that he found among his father’s stuff. Banavie PS shinty team, June 1972. He wonders if some of the “kids” recognise themselves!

You can watch what took place at the first mee ng of the Lochaber Area Commi ee on 26 Aug via their webcast at

h p://www.highland.public‐i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interac ve/111098

the lochaber axe

It’s not the most exci ng viewing but it’s worth a look to see what local councillors are saying (in public at least, though clearly much more poli cal business is s ll carried on behind closed doors). There is a menu on the webcast so you can skip straight to any items that interest you ‐ you don’t have to sit through the whole three hours ‐ so for example you can hop straight to the item where Corpach’s new street name Nevis Mews (as chosen by Walter Cameron Way’s residents) was approved ‐ that was where we learned that the word ‘homologated’ existed).

KCC were interested to hear the support expressed for circular path routes and for linear routes to be linked in with public transport. And we were pleased (or maybe depressed) to hear that bike racks on buses were s ll a declared aspira on a er more than 10 years. There was much discussion about the Lochaber Tourism BID proposal, which is worth listening to if you run a business and aren’t sure yet if you would be affected by it for be er or worse. The next Local Area Commi ee is on 25 November.

Perhaps LAC stands for the Lochaber Axe Commi ee! Cllr Allan Henderson’s comment above relates to the poli cally drama c assassina on of the role of Provost of Lochaber, which seems to have been engineered a er the Lochaber Area Commi ee mee ng had finished.

Area Manager Dot Ferguson tells us the LAC have determined that the civic role will now be shared between the LAC Leader Cllr Thomas MacLennan and the other six Ward councillors on an event‐by‐event basis. The ceremonial chain, used by the Provost, will con nue to be worn at events/func ons as and when appropriate.

KCC would like to thank Allan Henderson for his dedica on to the role of Provost over the last 6 years. He has been a great ambassador for our area and has worked relessly for us all as Lochaber’s civic figurehead. It remains to be seen whether the new arrangements and the new LAC itself will stand our community in such good stead. Our lives are improved by be er local services, not by more local poli cs.

Cllr Allan Henderson sent us an apology saying: “I will not be commen ng on the Lochaber Area Commi ee, as I am not par cularly disposed to it at this moment. It appears that

power is a dangerous thing. Lochaber News and Oban Times will reveal all, or at least some. Regards, Allan see below for what Allan

was referring to Cllr Allan Henderson

Cllr Eddie Hunter

Cover o

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the LAC

We then asked our three Ward 12 councillors for their views on how it will affect their work and the local community generally. The newsletter team decided on this topic in all innocence, weeks before the controversy that exploded after the first LAC meeting. We had hoped for replies from our councillors that could inspire us all to be more interested and involved in local issues - a faint hope it would now seem. Here are their replies... sorry we didn’t receive anything from Eddie.

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Kilmallie? I think that most of us believe that the word Kilmallie is a parish, a district or a local organisa on name ‐ which it is. The parish was once the largest in Scotland and stretched from Ballachulish to Loch Hourn. However it had a humble beginning as a local se lement. The word Kilmallie has, over the centuries, had many varia ons in its spelling, eg Kilmaduff (1304), Kilmalyn, Kilmalde (1372), Kilmalzhe (1472), Kilmalyhe (1495), Kirkmalie, Culmally and Kilmaddy. Even in more recent mes there is a tombstone in the Old Cemetery of 1830 of the Rev Duncan McIntyre, Minister of Killmalie. Was this the spelling of the me or could the family / engraver not spell?

The first known date of a version of the Kilmallie name was noted in 1296. Where is/was Kilmallie? All indica ons point to an area between the Oakwood and to the East of the old Cemetery as far as the burn beside Farrow Drive. What does Kilmallie mean ? Kil ‐ cemetery or church There is certainly an old cemetery but the earliest readable stone is 1790, a date which gives no indica on of the age of the graveyard. However five early Cameron leaders are said to be buried here in the 17th C. Being adjacent to Annat, with 6th C base for St Columba`s missionaries, would indicate a close e‐up of Annat / Kilmallie. As an ecclesias cal centre in the most likely sense some thoughts of a possible church on the top of the levelled Oakwoods (oh, for a professional dig!) No evidence of early churches but obvious ruin of a 1499 building. An old map also shows a church symbol on one of the islands in the bay. Mallie ‐ Possible origins ‐ from virgin Mary an ancient shrine ‐ built 11th C ‐

built here by a monk called Maolan. Hence Cil‐moalin. He was the son of the Bishop of Dunkeld.

from a li le known saint Maillidh from "kil maol dubh" ‐ church of the

black monk.

The burn already men oned is called Allt Cuil a Chiarain ‐ this means the burn flowing by St Ciarain’s Retreat. If this is true Ciarnain could be the ‘maol dubh’ and suggests there may have been a monastery in this vicinity. The other interpreta on is ‘the nook of the dusky one’. So what does ‘mallie’ mean? Take your pick, but many ‘experts’ choose Maillidh. From a map of the 16th C, Kilmallie was the only place of note in the area apart from the like of Tor Castle and Inverlochy Castle. In a map of about 1750 is shown the ‘Town of Kilmauly’ (as well as the ‘Town of Corpoch’ (but no indica on of Banavie). So what happened to the town of Kilmallie? We can speculate ‐ It lost its importance as an ecclesias cal

centre due to the Reforma on (1560‐1651) and no known churches were here for about 80 years;

war‐like mes with Clan disputes; by the early 1770s a surveyor ‘of the

Forfeited Estate’ men ons "Kilmallie Church at Corpach";

with the building of the Canal, star ng in 1803, there were a large number of incomers to Corpach. This almost certainly resulted in expansion and absorp on of Kilmallie town.

Hugh Muir

Kilmallie history We remember Hugh Muir in this great collection of history snippets which he sent us before he died earlier this year. With thanks to Hugh’s family for permission to publish it, and many

more still to come.

a way to the west

Angus MacIntyre has wri en to tell us about this exci ng ini a ve for a new long‐distance footpath. A steering commi ee has been formed under the umbrella of The Road to the Isles Marle ng Group to bring to reality the idea of a walking route linking all the villages between Fort William and Mallaig, to be named “A Way to the West”. Kilmallie Community Council has welcomed the project, which will bring economic benefit to our area as well as an enjoyable walking route for local residents as well as visitors to enjoy.

Plans are moving ahead well, though the precise full route has s ll to be established. The route will offer an op onal extension to walkers planning either the Great Glen Way or the West Highland Way. Roughly described, the plan is that it follows the Great Glen Way from Fort William to the canal, then turns le for Corpach through the village to Camusnaha, over the rail bridge onto the beach, following the rail line to Drumsallie and on to the Callop underpass, where it will pick up the public path to Glenfinnan. From here it will follow the new track to the Glenalladale estate hydro scheme and hopefully follow the west side of Locheilt to Lochailort and Glenmammie. It then follows the coast as close as possible to Mallaig through Arisaig and Morar. The important part is that no village along the route is missed out. One of our Ward councillors, Allan Henderson, who is on the steering group, tells us that most landowners have so far been very helpful although they s ll have to get official permission from others. SNH are also very suppor ve and will advise on SSSI’s etc. If you have any thoughts on this new footpath, or indeed any ideas for other local walking or cycling routes, please let KCC know.

letters Sorry, KCC knows of no such awards at the moment unfortunately. Thanks to Lucy for highlighting the dedication of Ann and Billy. It’s great to be able to

publicly acknowledge the valuable contribution that people have made and are making to our community - there are many such people - some well known, and many more not so well known. Why not write and tell us

your stories about the great contributions people have made?

Dear Kilmallie Community News

Reading Hugh Muir’s detailed account of Kilmallie Cubs/Scouts recalled a very special occasion due to the meless effort and dedica on of Ann and Billy MacMillan. This very special couple led seven guide/rangers and their proud mums to Holyrood to be presented with their Duke of Edinburgh

Gold Award by the Duke of Edinburgh himself in 1974: Margaret Andrew; Moira Collins; Rhona Cranston; Catherine Hogg; Edith Hope Sheena Macrae; Margaret McWilliams. Is there a civic award out there that can be given to this dedicated couple – not only for what they did for Kilmallie Guide Rangers, but for their meless effort First Aiding at events throughout Lochaber and beyond for many years?

Lucy Hope

There was a good turnout to Sco sh Canals’ consulta on on their proposed camping pods at Banavie back in June. A er the event at The Moorings, KCC welcomed their three representa ves to a KCC mee ng in the evening., where they gave a further presenta on. A small minority expressed enthusiasm for the proposed pods, thinking that they looked

interes ng and would help support the local economy. But the majority view expressed was not posi ve. Concerns tended to fall into the following categories: taking business away from exis ng local businesses providing

accommoda on li er, noise and general disturbance from a campsite next to a

residen al area inappropriate appearance lack of respect for the historical significance of the site (the

pods were going to be placed right on the line of the original railway line (see ar cle on page 7)

A community idea to provide floa ng pods on a barge or pontoon was met with much greater enthusiasm ‐ it would avoid disturbing the planned landscape of the canal, it would be a great a rac on for users, and the loca on could be more flexible to address concerns of local residents. Sco sh Canals (SC) appeared to welcome this idea, but it remains to be seen whether they will progress it. The SC team said they would no fy KCC of any specific proposals before pu ng in a planning applica on. So we are grateful to Keith Mackie, Development Surveyor at Sco sh Canals, who sent KCC this update on 26th August: “Following our mee ngs with the community, I thought it would be worthwhile upda ng you as to our plans for Banavie. We have decided to drop Banavie from Phase 1 of the camping pods project. We are pressing ahead with 4 other loca ons first as these other loca ons are known over‐night stops in the Great Glen Way transit. The market for Banavie needs to be proven, following

seeing exactly what the customer base is in Phase 1. Neptune’s Staircase has an under provision of facili es for visi ng tourists and we are focusing on projects that seek to address this issue. As such, we are working on the feasibility of revitalising the listed buildings that include the Saw Mill to offer uses such as interpreta on facili es, café, shop, toilets and possibly, a hire equipment outlet (bikes, canoes etc.). I shall update you as our plans develop.” This appears to be good news, depending on the nature of any actual proposals. Hopefully they will preserve the modest character of the old buildings which have an important place in the history of the canal. KCC have had no specific update from SC about their proposals for Moy: so we don’t know if it is one of the loca ons that SC say they are pressing ahead with. This is another loca on where it would be preferable to float the pods rather than spoil the peaceful beauty of Moy’s landscape se ng (there is plenty of space at the River Loy basin nearby). Or ideally SC could avoid development at Moy altogether as it is not far for walkers to carry on to Gairlochy. (There the community are opposing any pods and asking instead for Telford House Gairlochy to be brought back into use). So pods may yet appear at Moy, and also at Banavie in the future. If you want to see what they would look like, SC have now built a prototype. There is a picture of it under construc on at h p://www.oliverchapmanarchitects.com/news/2013/ SC have already put in a planning applica on for a 7‐pod campsite at Laggan Locks. It’s not in our Community Council area, but it is nearby, and it is of interest to anyone who takes an interest in the Canal as a whole. Here too, some floa ng pods would surely have been much more appropriate. You can see what is proposed on Highland Council ‘s eplanning website (see details below). Objec ons have been submi ed by various members of the Laggan community so far. The planning applica on is scheduled to be determined on 28 Sept. If, as is likely, it is approved, we will have a chance to see what the pods will look like in the flesh fairly soon. Let’s hope the minority of people who liked the look of the pods are vindicated.

Highland Council eplanning website: h p://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/

Search for applica on ref 13/02876/FUL All the drawings are downloadable under the ‘Documents’ tab.

odds on pods?

Locheilnet Locheilnet has made good progress in the past months. Despite a few hiccups out of our control, we have been able to do site surveys, order tools and equipment, order the leased line and install a few more main relays. Over the next 8 weeks, Locheilnet members and trained volunteers will do the house to house installa ons in the various areas, while our

dedicated IT team will monitor the performance of the line as the work progresses. This is very much a community effort and we thank everyone who has given us the strength and support to get us this far. You can follow our progress on the website and our facebook page:: www.locheilnet.co.uk/news h ps://www.facebook.com/Locheilnet Chris Pellow

Are you carrying on prin ng the newsle er? I would be happy to pay for it and I’m sure other people would be too. Long may it con nue! (SL)

I really enjoy the newsle er. I love it! (IM)

You folks are doing a great job with the newsle er (AG)

You have a truly wonderful gallery of images [from Meall Bhanbhaidh] in your Photo Galleries sec on [on your website]. (NH)

A very readable quarterly ‐ if you don’t live in or around the Queen of Suburbia then go out of your way to try to obtain a copy. (Roamer in Lochaber News a while back)

The magazine is very good. Keep up the good work ‐ we all enjoy reading it. (IC)

A wonderful magazine – people in the town are jealous! (BA)

The newsle er’s fantas c – I love that it’s got lots of in‐depth stuff in it. I really look forward to it arriving each me. (LM)

A good newsle er again ‐ always brilliant! (DM)

Please pass on my compliments to the team of people who put the newsle er together. Having produced something similar myself for my business and for a club, I know how much work goes into it. The content was interes ng, useful and well wri en ‐ a rarity these days. The layout was a rac ve and professional looking. All in all, a very well done job (CJ)

Congratula ons on ge ng the recent award for the newsle er – it is really a very good read! (AR)

My friend loves to read the KCC newsle er, they don't do anything like that where she lives! (SS)

Fabulous newsle er. Gold standard. (SC)

feedback

we love to get your feedback - please keep it coming - together

with ideas for future issues

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kilmallie community

news Bigger than ever before (because you keep sending us so much fantas c stuff) we are delighted to bring you another jam‐packed‐full newsle er. It is only possible thanks to all our brilliant contributors and our hardy delivery team. Thank you to everyone who has had a hand in this issue ‐ it is all done by volunteers.

Thank you too as always to our sponsors ‐ we really do rely on you and we hugely value your support.

If you’d like to help, either as a contributor, or on the editorial or delivery teams, please get in touch ‐ more help is always very welcome.

The deadline for the next newsle er is 15th November, for publica on in early December.

Your newsle er team: Chris ne Hutchison 772252 Jan MacLugash 772383 Kshama Wilmington 772499 Mandy Ketchin email us at newsle er@kilmallie.org.uk Views expressed in this newsle er are not necessarily the views of the newsle er team or of Kilmallie Community Council.

KILMALLIE COMMUNITY COUNCIL Members of the public are most welcome at all our mee ngs. Mee ngs are currently held at 7:15pm in Kilmallie Hall on the 3rd Wed of every month excl July and Dec, but please check the website in case of changes. Next ordinary mee ng dates are 18 September, 16 October, and 20 November 2013. Next AGM is 18 June 2014. Chairman Maggie Mackenzie, 42 Hillview Drive, Corpach, PH33 7LS chairman@kilmallie.org.uk Secretary Russell Leaper Canal House, Banavie, PH33 7LY secretary@kilmallie.org.uk Treasurer Jan MacLugash Salen, Banavie PH33 7LY treasurer@kilmallie.org.uk Other members Chris ne Hutchison Mandy Ketchin Kshama Wilmington Associate member Chris Pellow m

onst

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am if you

run a business in Kilmallie

(large or small) and if you are not

already well‐informed about the

Living Lochaber BID proposal and its implica ons for

local businesses

do make sure you find out how the proposal could affect you.

Whether you are for or against the BID, it is important that you register your view by cas ng your vote. You may be affected by the outcome,

whatever your views.

Living Lochaber are issuing ballot papers in October.

For more informa on go to www.livinglochaber.co.uk

Armistice Day service at Banavie War Memorial

Sunday 10th November, 3:00pm The names of all the local people who lost their lives in the two World Wars and who are commemorated on the war memorial at Banavie are recorded on KCC’s website in a Remembrance Gallery: a sad, grim

reminder of the horrors and reali es of war. Yet as our very local newsle er goes to press, the na onal and interna onal news has been full of the prospect of

sending missiles and armed forces to Syria.

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

outward bound kilmallie From the 22nd of June to the 6th of July Outward Bound Loch Eil hosted 50 boys from Eton college and The Windsor Boys School. The aims of the programme were to deliver skills for the 21st Century and also to build a sense of community between the two schools. The programme was tled Eton+plus. It was an intense 2 week programme designed by Outward Bound to test the boys’ strength of character and to increase their awareness of themselves and the impact they had on others. One of the main themes and values of the programme was "Service to Others" so a community project day was an important feature of the programme. With fantas c support from the Lochaber Rotary Club and the local Forestry Commission, five community projects were set up throughout the Lochaber area. The projects were based at Kilmallie Gardens, The Lochaber Rural Complex, Steall Mountain Hut in Glen Nevis, and path work in Glen Nevis. At the Kilmallie Gardens, a group of 10 young men from the ‘Macgregor Clan’ (5 Etonians and 5 Windsor boys) met Dr Sen and Paul Brian to help maintain this fantas c community focal point. The boys spent the day weeding the raised beds, trimming the hedge rows and clearing the pathways through the gardens. Dr Sen and Paul Brian explained beau fully the importance of the gardens and how it was such a meaningful place for the community of Corpach. It gave the boys a real sense of purpose and a fantas c insight to the values of selflessness and community spirit.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their day at Kilmallie Gardens and le with a great sense of pride and achievement for their efforts and contribu on. Outward Bound would like to thank all who helped organise these project days and a special thank you must go to Dr Sen and Paul Brian for their fantas c support and guidance at Kilmallie gardens. From Outward Bound’s point of view, the day was a great success. Sean Comiskey Outward Bound

green fingers

garlic Growing garlic is rela vely easy but you need to watch a couple of things. First don't try and grow them from bulbs bought in the Supermarket, they just don't work. It is best to get your bulbs from a Garden Centre in Sept/

Oct. Break the bulb into individual cloves and plant in a large trug or tub, about 6‐8 inches apart and deep enough to have the ps just showing. They need to have a period of cold, frosty weather

but if it gets very wet, put them under cover so they don't get waterlogged. We have also tried growing them direct into the ground in the Spring, now we have had had no success this way although I'm sure in some areas they would be fine. Just give them a feed occasionally and let them grow on un l the green tops die down, then hang them up and let them ripen fully. The varie es we have had most success with are Germidour and Solent Wight. Others we have tried have been inclined to go to seed and whilst they are usable they don't get to a decent size. They are very sa sfying to grow and take up very li le room so you don't even need a garden! Morag Mackell

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Thank you to Tony Whitelocke for another great crossword.

Answers to last issue’s puzzle: Across: 1 MEANDER, 4 MIDGE, 7 MEGAN, 9 DISPUTE, 10 ISLANDS, 11 SPLIT, 12 SAVOYS, 14 SPIDER, 18 ASCOT, 20 UMPIRES, 22 ANNOYED, 23 ARMED, 24 NIECE, 25 EMERALD Down: 1 MOTHERS, 2 ANGEL, 3 RADISH, 4 MOSES, 5 DOUBLED, 6 ELECT, 8 NANNY, 13 VACANCE, 15 PEPPA, 16 RESIDED, 17 DUNDEE, 18 AGAIN, 19 THYME, 21 RUMBA

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14 15 16

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18 19 20 21

22 23

24 25

Across

1 Top of the head followed by the Spanish blade (7)

4 Diamond has 4 (5) 7 Maybe the cat got it? (5) 9 Be er (7) 10 Bouquet (7) 11 He’s part of a small answer (5) 12 Right in the s ng for this e (6) 14 He lives next door to the knight (6) 18 Leans (5) 20 Sco sh plant (7) 22 Presenter(7) 23 Robin’s colour from Lincoln (5) 24 Gomorrah’s partner (5) 25 Stan gets in the mug ‐ whoa there horsey (7)

Down

1 They get out the ring at the start of the round (7)

2 Ini ally a man eats noodle stew for the endings (5)

3 Cricket extra (6) 4 Dance for a li le Samuel who got a degree (5) 5 Samson’s partner (7) 6 Temptress (5) 8 Girl’s Renault car loses final direc on (5) 13 Started again when the sum is in the re ring

deer (7) 15 It’s o en on the cake (5) 16 Old German currency (7) 17 This small river confuses the master 6) 18 There are lots of these in Scotland (5) 19 17 Down not right (5) 21 Greek le er (5)

“some straight clues, some cryptic clues, some easy, some not so easy”

from the Chair Well hello again and welcome to the September 2013 issue of Kilmallie Community News. You will see that it is a wee bit thicker this me at 32 pages; we have had great difficulty in recent issues trying to fit all the wonderful ar cles we receive in to 28 pages, so when you have to grow, you have to grow!

You will no ce a recurring theme of li er in this issue; it is sad that a beau ful area such as we live in is tainted by thoughtless dumping of rubbish, whether locally or arriving with the des, but heart‐warming that within our community we have members who take ac on to do something about removing it.

I just love the beau ful dri wood drove pony on page 24: how marvellous it is... an excellent piece of ar stry and a great use for some of the many pieces of dri wood that wash up on our beaches.

I was delighted to see the wee pepperpot lighthouse on Joan Kerr’s embroidery panel, what an achievement to have completed such a wonderful piece of needlework that joins the other amazing pieces portraying Scotland’s rich history. The tapestry will be touring Scotland at some point so hopefully it will come to Lochaber.

You will no ce on page 5 that there is a newly formed Lochaber Area Commi ee with an explana on from Dot Ferguson, Ward Manager on its role and how it will affect us locally.

Well then, take some me out and enjoy yet another fantas c issue of the Kilmallie Community News; a very big well done to our newsle er team, ar cle contributors, sponsors and delivery team, it just gets be er and be er!

Maggie Mackenzie chairman@kilmallie.org.uk

How can we help Highland Council improve their services? Last year Highland Council started a consulta on process on how the council could save money to address its funding deficit. Some of these cuts will simply be addressing a short‐term crisis. However, the more important issue is thinking about what kind of services we all need and would like to see in the longer‐term, and how they can best be provided. One of Highland Council’s plans is to recruit volunteers to do jobs that we have always seen done by Council workers. Whilst most of us aspire to live in a community where people play their part looking a er each other and the local environment, that is not the same as expec ng volunteers to provide services that were previously provided by the Council. There are few that would argue that saving money by cu ng jobs and then hoping volunteers, who may or may not have the necessary skills, will fill the gaps is a sensible strategy. Similarly, expec ng voluntary groups to raise money to pay the Council for ‘non‐essen al’ services is basically a form of voluntary local taxa on which is hard to see can be viable in the long term. Whether paid or unpaid, everyone’s me is valuable, and their skills need to be used to best effect. There needs to be a well thought out strategy for how voluntary groups including Community Councils can work most effec vely alongside Highland Council. Rou ne services requiring specialist equipment or infrastructure should be provided by the Council. Community Councils and other voluntary groups can provide advice on how best to tailor these to local needs. For example, Highland Council are currently seeking volunteers to take on jobs such as clearing snow and ice from footpaths, and they have stopped providing Christmas lights. The new voluntary Christmas lights group have been very successful in their efforts, but this shows that this is clearly something that is valued by the community, so arguably should simply remain a Council service. Having undertaken these ac vi es for years, the Council has the

experience, equipment and infrastructure to poten ally deliver these services much more efficiently than voluntary groups. They therefore do not seem sensible tasks to ask volunteers to do. Where community ac on can really play an important role is responding to rare and unusual events that the Council could not realis cally expect to plan for, providing the kind of extra assistance that friends and neighbours are par cularly good at. During this summer’s hill fires, the community excelled at checking up on and helping their neighbours, leaving the emergency services to tackle the most cri cal situa ons with their specialist skills. Similarly we should all be prepared to change our plans and help each other out in response to extreme weather, but that is a very different thing from the regular clearing of footpaths in typical winter condi ons. Arguably the most effec ve thing we can all do to help the Council improve services is to look at all the things we do which unwi ngly cause expense. Refuse collec on is an obvious example. Whilst recycling is helpful in environmental terms, such waste s ll needs to be collected and processed, and it would be be er if it were never created at all. In 2010/11 the cost for refuse collec on for each household in Highland was £183, and landfill tax is set to be £80 per tonne by 2014. These costs roughly scale to the amount of waste we produce. Cut our waste by 1% and that would pay for Christmas lights. By compos ng all food waste and avoiding items with unnecessary packaging it is easy to reduce what we put in the bin by 25% without any real effort. The retail industry would also soon get the message if items in excess packaging simply didn’t sell and a 25% reduc on would save roughly the equivalent of Highland Council’s total winter road maintenance budget. That would be a good example of a community ac ng together and playing to its strengths. Or why not consider helping to make the voice of the community really heard, by joining Kilmallie Community Council? As members of KCC, ci zens have a real opportunity to make long‐las ng improvements in their community, using their skills in the best ways, and advising the Council on how we would really like Kilmallie to look in the future.

Russell Leaper, Secretary

picture quiz no 1

where in Kilmallie is this chef working?

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Answers to these puzzles are on the website www.kilmallie.org.uk

(follow the link on the RHS of the homepage) and will also be published in the next issue of the

newsle er for people without access to the internet

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Issue No 43, September 2013 delivered free to every address in Kilmallie

KCC reports – p2 Lochaber BID – p3 odds on pods – p4

locheilnet - p4 a way to the west - p4 councillors’ corner - p5 the lochaber axe - p5

past present future - p6 mews news - p6

community policing- p6 140 years ago- p7

whitta lotta litta - p8 community heroes – p9

flingin’s mingin - p9 litterature - p9

pearls of wisdom – p10 what a dump - p10

community heroes - p11 Banavie Primary – p12

High Notes - p13 Kilmallie Playgroup – p14

Coastguard - p15 Flower & Produce - p16/17

Canal News - p18 Music for All – p19

Community Centre - p19 Corpach Woods - p20

FOCAL - p20 royal occasion - p21 funding fears - p21

Christmas Lights - p21 update from Africa - p22

up the watter - p23 rugby club – p24 shinty club - p24

driftwood drover - p24 wild about kilmallie – p25 Lochaber art club - p25

dè tha dol – p26 tapestry update - p26

focus on folk- p27 guiding memories – p28 kilmallie history - p29

letters – p29 feedback - p29

green fingers - p30 outward bound - p30

puzzles - p31 sponsors - p32

runner-up community newspaper of the year

2012

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a huge thank you to our sponsors

A huge thank you to the businesses below who sponsored the newsle er last year. We are s ll trying to raise funds for 2013/2014 so we are always grateful for more sponsorship.

The cost of copying this newsle er has again been very generously donated by Lorna and Finlay Finlayson of Crannog Restaurant, Fort William.

The paper for this issue has again been generously donated by BSW Timber, Kilmallie Our other newsle er costs have been met by dona ons and from KCC’s limited funds.

We rely on the contribu ons from our business community for the cost of distribu ng this free newsle er to every address in our area. Without further sponsorship this year, we may not be able to meet all our costs.

We welcome sponsorship from all businesses located in Kilmallie, or with principal key personnel resident in Kilmallie. If you would you like to see your name or logo in print suppor ng your community newsle er, please join with our current sponsors.

All dona ons, big or small, are hugely appreciated.

Please contact us at treasurer@kilmallie.org.uk for details.

BOYD BROTHERS (HAULAGE) LTD

CLYDEBoyd Fort William Ltd

would you like to become a sponsor too?

mega congratulations Morgan! Morgan MacIntyre proudly holding her Silver medal she won at the Bri sh Transplant Games in Sheffield.

Morgan also has a medal for comple ng the 3k Donor run/walk to honour all Donors.

Many thanks to Iain Ferguson for photo

see page 26 joan’s tapestry goes to holyrood